Survivor of brutal stabbing is killed in Harrogate Porsche crash

The victim, who was named locally yesterday as Ashley Murray, 27, was behind the wheel of the silver Porsche Boxster when the high performance car left the main carriageway while travelling towards Leeds on the A61 and hit the tree on Saturday night.

Mr Murray had previously survived an attack which was carried out 13 years ago by two school friends, who left him for dead with multiple stab wounds after they took him to a nature reserve near Harrogate.

A court later heard that his attackers had watched the horror film, Scream, before luring Mr Murray to the nature reserve on the pretext of sneaking into a bird watching hut.

Staff at Rossett School, where he was a pupil at that time, paid tribute yesterday to Mr Murray’s courage in battling back from the horrendous injuries he suffered in the knife attack.

The headteacher of the school, Pat Hunter, said: “Speaking to staff today who were here at the time, they have all said what a happy and resilient lad he was. Obviously it was a very unpleasant set of circumstances for him but talking about him today, his determination saw him come back and do really well – which makes this all the more tragic. Our sympathies are with his family and friends at this time.”

The road crash in which Mr Murray suffered fatal injuries happened at about 11pm on Saturday.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are now appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

The tragedy has happened after Mr Murray had made an amazing recovery from the extensive injuries he suffered on Sunday, January 17, 1999. He was 13 at the time and was stabbed 18 times with a screwdriver and a knife by Daniel Gill and Robert Fuller, then aged 14 and 15.

Their teenage victim was discovered 40 hours later on the Tuesday afternoon, when a dog walker found him wrapped in a binliner on Birk Crag, near Harrogate, paralysed, suffering from dehydration and hypothermia, and barely able to speak.

He had survived by licking rain water off his jacket.

Both his assailants were each sentenced to six years after they were found guilty of attempted murder, but they were given parole after serving just half of the term.

Mr Murray spent nine months in hospital and underwent a series of operations. He battled back to health, and went on to pass his GCSEs before securing a job in IT sales.

In an interview with the Yorkshire Post in 2010, he said: “I remember what life was like before the attack, but you have to get on with it and accept it, say ‘That’s life’ and have a good time.”

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.