Teen murder trial reveals pre-planned fight over boy in Leeds
Three young adults are on trial for the stabbing death of 16-year-old Chloe Watson Dransfield after prosecutors say the attack was arranged in advance.
Leeds Crown Court heard that 16-year-old Chloe Watson Dransfield was stabbed to death on 28 March after a pre-planned confrontation involving an 18-year-old girl, Kayla Smith, and two male accomplices, 18-year-old Blake Dowling and 20-year-old Archie Rycroft. Prosecutors said Smith lured Watson to her grandfather’s summer house, where she approached the victim with a knife and inflicted five stab wounds to the neck and back.
The prosecution presented evidence that Smith had threatened Watson over the phone the day before the attack and that Dowling arranged a taxi to transport Watson to Smith’s home in the early hours of the morning. CCTV footage showed Smith leaving the summer house at 5:10 a.m. in pyjamas, raising her right hand and holding a shiny object, while a door-bell camera captured her shouting, “Come on, big girl,” followed by a threat to stab.
Rycroft was shown on the footage walking behind Smith and holding a phone, which prosecutors say was used to film the stabbing. A video from the phone has not been recovered. After the attack, Smith and Rycroft returned to the house, where Smith’s grandfather, Geoff Smith, called for an ambulance. Neighbour footage showed him performing CPR on Watson before paramedics pronounced her dead at 6:40 a.m.
Smith has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder. Dowling and Rycroft, accused of filming the incident, deny both murder and manslaughter charges. The trial is ongoing.