An 18-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to murdering a teenage girl in a pre-planned street fight over a boy.
Kayla Smith admitted the murder of Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, on the second day of her trial at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday. Smith had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder.
Chloe was stabbed to death in the early hours of March 28 after being taken by her boyfriend, Blake Dowling, 18, to Smith's home in the Austhorpe area of Leeds.
Background to the attack
The court heard that Dowling had been in "on-off" relationships with both girls, and they would regularly argue over him. Dowling's mother said Smith was "jealous and obsessed" over her son's relationship with Chloe.
On the night of her death, Chloe was with Dowling at his mother's house. When Smith found out she was there, the two girls argued over the phone and agreed to fight.
Jurors heard that in the hours leading up to the fight, Smith repeatedly threatened to stab Chloe. A friend of Chloe's who was on FaceTime with her that night said she heard Dowling answering his phone and heard Smith screaming: "Blake, I'm gonna smash your head in… you better not be with no girls… Chloe better not be there." When Chloe said that she was there, the witness heard Smith say: "I'm gonna stab you in your throat."
The stabbing and aftermath
Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith's home. CCTV and Ring doorbell footage shown in court showed Smith emerging from the summer house in her grandfather's garden, where she lived, holding a knife. She could be heard shouting: "Come on big girl", and was then seen running back to the summer house with Rycroft after the stabbing.
Chloe, who had been stabbed five times in the neck and back, bled to death. CCTV footage taken at 5.12am, about one minute after the stabbing, shows Smith and Rycroft with 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 by a neighbour performing CPR on Chloe on the footpath. Chloe was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.40am.
Trial continues for co-defendants
The trial will continue for Smith's two co-defendants, Dowling and Archie Rycroft, 20, who followed Smith to the fight and is accused of recording it on a phone. Both deny murder and manslaughter.
When police arrested Smith and Rycroft, they were "laughing and joking" with two of their friends and using nitrous oxide in front of officers, the court heard. Dowling denied knowing that Chloe would be caused really serious harm, while Rycroft said he followed Smith out of curiosity and did not see that she had a knife.
The judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh KC, said he would sentence Smith once the trial was over. He warned her that the only sentence he could pass for murder was life imprisonment, but that he would need to set the minimum term she must spend in custody.
