CCTV shows the moments before and after the fatal stabbing of a 16-year-old girl in Leeds
Published12 November 2026
A teenager has admitted murdering a 16-year-old girl who she stabbed to death in a pre-planned fight over a boy.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Chloe Watson Dransfield was attacked by 18-year-old Kayla Smith after going to Smith's home with her boyfriend Blake Dowling 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.
Dowling, 18, who took Chloe to the house in Kennerleigh Avenue in Leeds, and Archie Rycroft, 20, who followed Smith to the fight, are also charged with murder and manslaughter and their trial will continue. They both deny the charges against them.
The judge, Mr Justice Cavanagh KC, said he would sentence Smith once the trial was over.
He told her the only sentence he could give was life imprisonment, but that he would need to set the minimum term she must spend in custody.
The trial previously heard that Dowling had been in a relationship with both Chloe and Smith and "knew of the bad feeling between the two females".
Dowling's mother told the court that Smith was "jealous and obsessed" over her son's relationship with Chloe.
Kayla Smith changed her plea to guilty during a trial at Leeds Crown Court
The prosecution said Chloe and Smith had argued the previous evening, with Smith threatening to "stab her" several times.
Just before the attack, Dowling was with Chloe and spoke to Smith on the phone.
Smith was at her grandfather's house in Austhorpe, east Leeds, with Rycroft.
The court heard 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 two girls agreed to fight, and Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith's home.
Giving evidence on Thursday, the friend 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".
Gill Batts KC, defending Dowling, asked what she thought the fight would entail.
The witness replied: "Just themselves, nothing else," meaning there would be no weapons.
Chloe Watson Dransfield was fatally stabbed in Leeds on 28 March
The court was shown CCTV and video doorbell footage which showed Smith emerging from the annexe in her grandfather's garden holding a knife.
Rycroft followed Smith as she left the property to fight with Chloe, with CCTV footage appearing to show him filming her.
She was heard shouting "come on big girl", and was then seen running back to the annexe with Rycroft after the stabbing.
Chloe, who had been stabbed five times in the neck and back, bled to death.
Prosecutor Mark McKone KC said Rycroft is accused of murder "by walking with Kayla Smith to the fight and by trying to film Kayla Smith using violence and by providing support to her, if needed".
He added that Dowling knew Smith wanted to stab Chloe and by booking the taxi "played a part in organising the violence, assisted and encouraged Kayla Smith by taking Chloe to the scene for the purpose of fighting".
In CCTV footage taken one minute after the stabbing at 05:12, Smith is seen with Rycroft along with Smith's grandfather outside the annexe.
Smith's grandfather is heard saying he was going to call police, with Smith replying: "You can't ring the police, she's dead."
He 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.
The jury heard Chloe was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead at 06:40.
When police arrested Smith and Rycroft, the prosecution said they were "laughing and joking" with two of their friends and using nitrous oxide in front of officers.
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.
The trial continues.
منبع: بی بی سی
