The home secretary has said he will “investigate” the ages at which people can be considered victims of domestic violence after the murder of a 15-year-old girl.

Holly Newton was stalked and then stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in Hexham, Northumberland, last January.

Holly’s mother, Micala Trussler, is campaigning to lower the age at which a person can be legally recognized as a victim of domestic violence.

Yvette Cooper said it was an “extremely important issue” and the government would consider it.

Currently, for this to be considered a domestic violence crime, the abuser and the victim must be over the age of 16.

“We’re going to look at this specifically because we need to make sure we have the right ways to record this type of violence in teenage relationships,” Cooper said.

“I think this is an extremely important issue and we need to take seriously the points they are making.”

Logan MacPhail was jailed for at least 17 years for Holly’s murder, Newcastle Crown Court heard on Friday.

His family said that no sentence would be enough to ease their pain.

Ms Tussler added that more needed to be done to educate people about domestic violence.

“Children enter into relationships at a much younger age and can become victims of domestic abuse,” he said.

“We need more education, not just for children, but for teachers and parents as well.

“We talk about safe relationships, but we often talk about being abused by family members, but we don’t talk about when they (children) are in a relationship and watch out for red flags.”

Lee Trussler, Holly’s stepfather, added: “I think if Holly had known what to look out for, the relationship would have ended much sooner than it did.”

He urged young people to “talk to each other” and support each other.

“Don’t be afraid to tell parents or an adult, your caregivers, what’s going on,” she said.

“Don’t be afraid to say what’s going on, because if you’re afraid to say what’s going on it could end really badly.”

The family is also raising money to install bleeding boxes in public areas to help deal with critical bleeding.

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