Teenage girl who stabbed 16-year-old in fight over boy pleads guilty to murder

Kayla Smith, 18, who has pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court to the murder of Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16 (West Yorkshire Police/PA)PA MediaKatie Dickinson5 minutes agoNews Briefings

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

A teenage girl who stabbed another to death in the street during a pre-planned fight over a boy has pleaded guilty to murder.

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 March 28.

Leeds Crown Court heard that Dowling had been in “on-off” relationships with both girls, and they would regularly argue over him, although they had never met in person before the fatal attack.

Dowling’s mother said Smith was “jealous and obsessed” over her son’s relationship with Chloe.

Smith had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murder.

However, on the second day of her trial on Thursday, she pleaded guilty to the more serious charge.

The trial will continue for her two co-defendants, Dowling and Archie Rycroft, 20, who followed Smith to the fight and is accused of recording it on a phone.

Russell Brand prays and tells wife ‘it’ll be OK’ as sentencing hearing begins

Henry Nowak’s killer Vickrum Digwa has prison term increased at Court of Appeal

Henry Nowak killer’s bid to reduce murder sentence to be heard

Chloe Mitchell faced ‘cruel and brutal death’ before dismemberment, jury told

Dowling and Rycroft both deny murder and manslaughter.

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.

Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, who was stabbed to death in the street during a pre-planned fight over a boy (Family handout/West Yorkshire Police/PA)PA MediaProsecutors said that 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.”

Chloe’s friend said that Smith had threatened to stab Chloe before, and that Chloe would laugh, and not take the threats seriously.

Giving evidence on Thursday, the witness said that as Chloe was on the way to Smith’s house, she told her she was “off to get the fight that I’ve wanted for ages”.

Asked by Gill Batts KC, defending Dowling, what she thought the fight would entail, the witness said: “Just themselves, nothing else,” later clarifying she meant that there would be no weapons.

Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith’s home in the Austhorpe area of Leeds.

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.

The guilty plea was entered at Leeds Crown Court (Anna Gowthorpe/PA)PA ArchiveShe 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 Smith’s grandfather Geoff Smith outside the summer house.

Mr Smith is heard saying “I’m ringing the police” and Smith replies: “You can’t ring the police, she’s dead.”

Mr Smith called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the stabbing and was seen by a neighbour performing CPR on Chloe on the footpath.

The court heard Chloe was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.40am.

When police arrested Smith and Rycroft, they were “laughing and joking” with two of their friends and using nitrous oxide in front of officers, prosecutor Mark McKone KC said.

Mr McKone said 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.