Murder hunt launched as teenage boy, 17, killed in Wolverhampton park is named

Police have launched a murder investigation after a teenage boy was stabbed to death in a park in broad daylight.

The victim, who has now been named as 17-year-old Harleigh Hepworth, was stabbed in West Park in Wolverhampton at around 4.30pm on Thursday (March 7).

Police and paramedics scrambled to the scene but the boy died a short time later. Chief Superintendent Richard Fisher, of West Midlands Police, said: "It's absolutely tragic that we have lost another young life to knife crime.

“Our enquiries are at a very early stage, and we have detectives working flat out to find whoever is responsible and bring them into custody as soon as possible.

“We'll be increasing patrols and offering reassurance to the community, and supporting everyone affected, over the coming days.”

A force statement added: "Investigators are continuing with door-to-door enquiries and reviewing CCTV from around the location as we work to identify and detain whoever is responsible. Extra patrols are also in place with our neighbourhood officers out in the area offering reassurance to residents over the coming days."

Anyone with information can contact police via Live Chat or call 101, quoting log 3259 of 7 March. The killing comes six years after a teenage girl was brutally murdered in the same park.

In 2018, 14-year-old Viktorija Sokolova was killed by 17-year-old Ayman Aziz in a terrifying rape and murder that shocked the nation.