Ava White's mum's blunt name for her twisted teenager killer is far more telling

The heartbroken mother of a 12-year-old girl stabbed to death by a teen yob has branded the killer "the monster".

Leeann White, 42, won't call Harry Gilbertson by his real name - even though the press are now able to unmask the lowlife as the vile killer of Ava White. The girl's mum said she doesn't want to give Gilbertson such respect - even if he can be publicly identified - because he senselessly took Ava's life following a petty row in Liverpool city centre more than three-a-half years ago.

Reacting to the news the media can name Gilbertson, Ms White candidly said this week: "I don't call him by his name. I call him the monster... He has never shown any remorse. It is important the public know who he is."

When Gilbertson was found guilty of murder, aged 15, judge Amanda Yip refusedcalls from Ava’s family and the press for him to be named, saying the risk to his family, in particular his younger siblings, was too great. A court-enforced order had been put in place - as the case with all defendants aged younger than 18 - to prevent the media from publishing details, including his name, picture and address.

READ MORE: Ava White's schoolboy murderer unmasked as teenager who stabbed girl turns 18

This order now no longer applies because Gilbertson is now 18. He can therefore be pictured and, in the image above, the murderer poses for a snap, which was published on social media site Snapchat.

It was the use of Snapchat which led to the altercation in which Ava was attacked outside Primark in November 2021. Following a verbal argument between Ava's friends and a group of boys, one of the boys filmed them, which he later shared on Snapchat.

Ava told the boy to stop filming and delete the video and, after the argument continued, Ava was stabbed in the neck with a flick knife. She was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she sadly died a short time later despite the best efforts of medical staff.

Remembering her daughter, Leeann told Mail Online this week: "The public know everything about Ava – her name was splashed everywhere when she died. Why shouldn’t everyone know what he did? Why should he be protected? He was the one in the wrong, he was the one who went out that night with a knife."

The Ava White Foundation has been set up by her family to generate awareness and raise money for bleed control kits. The kits, which are designed to treat stab wounds, have been installed in public places, and will continue to be. Speaking previously about this, Leeann said: "The importance of these bleed packs is to make sure they are out there so we don't have another child die on our streets. So another mother hasn't got to be sitting here and feeling the way I'm feeling everyday."