Skip to main content
WorldBBC

Teenage girl admits murder in row over boy

Read the full story at BBC

Teenage girl admits murder in row over boy

Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, was taken by her boyfriend Blake Dowling, 18, to the home of Kayla Smith, 18, who fatally stabbed her in the early hours of 28 March. Smith had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder. She then changed her plea to guilty on the second day of her trial at Leeds Crown Court.

Dowling and Archie Rycroft, 20, who followed Smith to the fight at the house in Kennerleigh Avenue in Leeds, are also charged with murder and manslaughter and their trial will continue. 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. The trial heard on Wednesday that Dowling had been in a relationship with both Chloe and Smith and "knew of the bad feeling between the two females".

The prosecution said Chloe and Smith had argued the previous evening, with Smith threatening to "stab her" several times.