Troubled Durham teenager guilty of assault

Nov 1 2009 by Coreena Ford, Sunday Sun

THE TROUBLED son of a North woman murdered by a cannibal killer has appeared in court for his role in a vicious crime.

Freddie Newman, 19, was part of a group who terrorised passengers on a Metro train in South Shields, South Tyneside, after demanding cash.

The teenager faced Newcastle Crown Court last week where it was revealed how he and two accomplices - a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons - launched the ferocious attack on a group of teenagers, demanding they hand over money.

And the Sunday Sun can reveal Newman is the son of Julie Paterson, the young mum who was strangled with a pair of tights by David Harker before he dismembered her body in the basement of his flat in Darlington, County Durham.

Harker claimed he ate the flesh of 31-year-old Julie during the horrific crime in 1998, before dumping her torso in a derelict house.

He has never revealed where the rest of her body is buried.

Julie’s gruesome killing is said to have left her teenage son traumatised. And when he appeared in court last Friday, he was spared immediate jail after the judge read his pre-sentence report.

In Newman’s defence, Stephen Duffield told how his personal history was “unique” and described his childhood as “disorderly.”

The lawyer did not describe the terrible circumstances surrounding the death of Newman’s mother, but referred Judge David Wood to pre-sentence reports.

Mr Duffield said: “The court hears all too often about young people who have had an unfortunate childhood.

“He has gone out of control.”

Earlier, the court was told how Newman, of Braunespath Estate in New Brancepeth, Durham, and his 16-year-old male accomplice repeatedly punched and kicked two male victims, and a 17-year-old girl robbed another female passenger of her handbag during the attack on May 27.

At a previous hearing, Newman pleaded guilty to assault, the 16-year-old boy admitted assault occasioning actual bodily harm and theft of a mobile phone, and the 17-year-old girl admitted robbery.

Newman was given a 40-week suspended sentence with supervision and was ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work.

The 16-year-old boy was given a 12-month supervision order and a six-month curfew between the hours of 9pm and 7am. The 17-year-old girl was also given 12-month supervision order and a two month curfew between 10pm and 7am.

After the case, Newman’s grandmother, Eleanor Newman, 55, told how Freddie had been damaged by the horrendous circumstances surrounding the death of his mum.

Mrs Newman, of South Shields, said: “He is a good lad most of the time. He isn’t violent, but when he has been drinking he can get out of control.

“Freddie has been through a lot.

“His dad, my son, hung himself a few years ago. He was only 39. He was called Freddie too.

“He brought Freddie and his sister up - Julie left them when Freddie was very young - and he didn’t know how his mum died until a year or two later.”

She added: “He never talks about what happened with his mum. He was only young when she died. He keeps things to himself. Maybe it would help him to talk about it.”

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