The trial had heard how Franco had been walking along Ramsden Street with his then-girlfriend when Ahmad, who was with a friend, walked past them.
The prosecution had said Ahmad “may have made a most minor contact” with Franco’s girlfriend as he brushed past them, to which Franco “appeared to take some petty exception”.
The 20-year-old pulled a flick knife from his pocket with his left hand while eating an ice cream with his right.
He then stabbed the victim, who had only moved to Huddersfield a fortnight previously to live with his uncle, around 40 seconds after the confrontation started, in full view of passers-by, including children.
