A 13-year-old schoolgirl who plotted a brutal knife attack on a classmate, even writing in her diary that she wanted to eat the girl's organs, has been sentenced to more than three years' detention. The incident occurred in Speedwell, Bristol.
Attack Details
CCTV captured the moment the teen pulled a Stanley blade from her pocket and lunged at her victim, stabbing her in the neck while screaming: 'I want to kill you, I hate you.' The victim, who was in the same year group, escaped with a cut behind her ear and scratches to her face.
Police later uncovered chilling social media posts, including an image of a gravestone bearing the victim's name, along with disturbing diary entries where she described plans to set fire to the girl's eyeballs. The defendant bragged about killing her and intending to stab her five times in the neck.
Sentencing
On Monday (June 8), at Birmingham Crown Court, the now-15-year-old defendant, who cannot be named, was sentenced to three years and four months detention. She admitted having a knife on school premises and was found guilty of wounding with intent following a trial. The jury cleared her of attempted murder. The term would have been around twice as long if she had been an adult.
Justice Christina Lambert DBE said: 'Taking a knife on to school premises, which should be a place of safety, and using it in the presence of other children with the intention of causing really serious injury to another schoolgirl is very serious indeed. Only a term of detention is appropriate. I take into account that such a sentence is one of last resort, but I am satisfied the offence is so serious that no other sanction is appropriate.'
Background
The court heard that the defendant had allegedly been bullied by the victim, with the latter telling the defendant's partner that 'she could do better'. Days before the knife attack, the defendant had 'expressed her hatred' towards the victim on social media and in messages to friends. She bragged about killing her on a Tuesday and intending to stab her five times in the neck, telling others that she wanted to do so simply 'cos she's alive'.
Meticulous planning preceded the attack. The defendant brought a Stanley-type knife from home after studying the victim's timetable to know what building she would be in that morning. She then attacked her repeatedly, shouting 'die b****' for more than 30 seconds as another pupil battled to keep them apart. School staff managed to separate the pair while the defendant dropped the weapon in the bin as she was escorted away.
'I didn't want her to survive. I wanted to kill her,' she said after being asked why she used a knife instead of having a fist fight. Police noted her 'cold and emotionless' demeanour.
Diary Entries
The defendant was arrested later, and her diary was seized. In it, she gloated: 'Today I tried to stab (the victim) LMAO. I stabbed her neck but the f****** blade wasn't sharp enough to cut through. Anyways, she's still alive, sadly, and I'm permanently excluded. I just want my phone back LOL. That's all I care about, honestly.'
She was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) while remanded in youth detention, but Justice Lambert concluded that had not influenced her attack. 'Although I know you have reported to many people you were bullied and you had been called names by the schoolgirl, I do not find this in any way reduces your blameworthiness for this offence,' she told the defendant.
Progress and Defence
A youth offending worker reported that the defendant had made significant progress, particularly around avoiding conflict, describing her as 'forward thinking'. It was noted that she had not expressed remorse but wanted to move on and make better decisions in the future.
Alison Scott-Jones, defending, said the girl had recognised she deserved to be punished. 'This has been a salutary lesson for this young woman at a developmental stage in her maturity and upbringing. What has happened to her has been punitive enough.'
The girl was told she would spend 40 per cent of the three-year, four-month sentence (about 486 days) in custody before release on licence. The 405 days she had already spent on remand would count towards that.
