Ewan Ireland: Teenage killer who stabbed solicitor through heart with stolen screwdriver named for first time as he turns 18

Peter Duncan was stabbed to death at a shopping centre in Newcastle
Northumbria Police/PA
Stephanie Cockroft6 October 2019
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A teenage killer who stabbed a solicitor to death at a busy shopping centre with a stolen screwdriver has been named for the first time.

Ewan Ireland already had a history of violence when he targeted family man Peter Duncan, a 52-year-old father, in Newcastle on August 14.

He could not be named by the media when he was still a juvenile, but has now turned 18.

Newcastle Crown Court previously heard how Mr Duncan, an in-house lawyer for a multi-national maritime firm, was on his way home and was "simply in the wrong place at the wrong time" when he crossed paths with Ireland at an entrance to the Eldon Square shopping centre.

The solicitor raised his arm to let the teenager past at the doorway - to which the youth took exception - and a struggle followed in which Mr Duncan was fatally stabbed in the heart .

Police officers conduct a search near Old Eldon Square, Newcastle following the attack
Owen Humphreys/PA

He collapsed near to a Greggs outlet in the mall, which was still busy with tea-time shoppers.

The serial criminal was on bail for affray when he stabbed the devoted father with a screwdriver he had stolen from a Poundland store earlier that day.

Ireland was still 17 when he pleaded guilty last month to murder , and at that time his identity could not be reported, despite the utmost seriousness of the case.

But now he has become an adult, section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 no longer applies.

The case provoked outrage, with many people commenting on social media that if Ireland felt he was old enough to carry a weapon, he was old enough to be named as a killer.

Police officers at the scene of the killing
PA

When he murdered Mr Duncan, the teenager from the Westerhope area of Newcastle was looking for another youth with whom he had fallen out about some cigarettes.

At a previous bail hearing, prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said Ireland and Mr Duncan came into contact with each other by chance when they were walking in opposite directions.

Mr Wardlaw said: "The deceased raised his arm to let the defendant get past. It is captured on CCTV footage.

"The defendant took exception to that, took hold of the deceased and a struggle ensued."

Mr Duncan managed to push the teenager off, at which point the youth stabbed him once in the heart. He managed to walk a short distance away before he collapsed to the floor.

CCTV cameras tracked the youth's movements through the city centre and the murder weapon was found later.

At that bail hearing, Newcastle Crown Court heard Ireland had 17 convictions for 31 offences between 2017 and 2019, including an incident where he grabbed a knife during a family argument.

There was also an occasion where the threatened a driver with a blade after he was challenged about drinking alcohol on the bus. At the time of the murder, the boy was on bail for affray.

Mr Duncan's family previously issued a statement in which they said: "Peter was a kind and caring man who was always first to help others.

"He was a devoted father, husband, son, brother, uncle and friend and loved by all who knew him.

"His death will leave such a huge hole in our lives and he'll be deeply missed by us all.

"Words can't quite describe what life will be like without him. He had so much of his life left to live and he'll be in our hearts and thoughts every day."

Ireland will be sentenced in December after psychiatric reports are prepared and is currently in custody.

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