Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, was fatally stabbed in the neck and back in Leeds after being taken by her boyfriend to a pre-planned fight with his former girlfriend, a court has heard. Kayla Smith, 18, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder.
Footage Shows Attack
Jurors at Leeds Crown Court were shown CCTV and doorbell footage of the moments leading up to the stabbing. The footage showed Smith running towards Chloe in pyjamas, shouting "Come on, big girl," as she held something shiny in her raised right hand.
Prosecutor Mark McKone KC said Smith left her summer house at 5.10am on March 28, "striding quickly" towards Chloe. The doorbell footage captured Smith saying "Come on then, I will stab you," according to prosecutors, though the stabbing itself was not captured on camera.
Pre-Planned Fight
The court heard that Chloe was taken by her boyfriend Blake Dowling, 18, to the home of his former girlfriend Smith, who had become "jealous and obsessed" over his relationship with Chloe, according to Dowling's mother. Smith had threatened to stab Chloe over the phone after learning she was with Dowling on March 27.
The two girls agreed to fight, and Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith's home in the Austhorpe area of Leeds in the early hours of March 28. Smith approached Chloe with a knife and stabbed her five times in her neck and back.
Aftermath and Charges
After the stabbing, Smith and Rycroft ran back to Smith's home. CCTV footage taken at 5.12am showed Smith and Rycroft with Smith's grandfather Geoff Smith outside the summer house. Geoff Smith is heard saying "I'm ringing the police," and Smith replies: "You can't ring the police, she's dead."
Geoff Smith called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the stabbing and was seen performing CPR on Chloe on the footpath. Chloe was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.40am.
Rycroft, 20, who is accused of filming the attack, denies murder and manslaughter. The court heard that a video has been deleted from his phone and never recovered. Smith accepts stabbing Chloe and causing the fatal wound but denies intending to kill her or cause her really serious harm. The trial continues.
