Two assault charges dropped against boy accused of murdering Leo Ross, 12, in Birmingham

Leo Ross, 12, was killed in Birmingham on Tuesday 21 January.

Leo Ross was stabbed in Birmingham.
Author: Matthew CooperPublished 30th Jan 2025

Two of six assault charges brought against a youth aged 14 charged with murdering 12-year-old Leo Ross have been dropped.

A two-minute hearing at Birmingham Magistrates' Court, presided over by two magistrates, approved a Youth Offending Team application for a "non-court disposal" of two counts of assault by beating of an emergency worker.

No details of the alleged offences were given to the court other than the names of the two officers said to have been assaulted, PC Dawson Jones and PC Jessica Wright.

West Midlands Police previously said the officers were alleged to have been assaulted on 26 November last year.

The 14-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, was not required to attend Thursday's hearing.

He will next appear at Birmingham Crown Court on 22 April to enter pleas to charges of murdering Leo on 21 January, possession of a bladed article, and four remaining counts of assault.

Leo, who police said was stabbed in the stomach at The Shire Country Park in Hall Green, Birmingham, was described in a family tribute issued at the weekend as an "amazing, kind, loving" boy.

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