Kayla Smith stabbed Chloe Watson Dransfield to death during planned fight over young man
An 18-year-old woman who stabbed a teenage girl to death during a planned fight over a young man has pleaded guilty to murder.
Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, was attacked by Kayla Smith, 18, after going to the latter’s home with her boyfriend Blake Dowling in Leeds, West Yorkshire, a court heard.
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 on Thursday.
Dowling, 18, who took Chloe to the house, and Archie Rycroft, 20, who followed Smith to the fight on 28 March, 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 when the trial concluded, adding the only sentence he could give was life imprisonment but he would need to set the minimum term she must spend in custody.
The trial previously heard Dowling had been in a relationship with both Chloe and Smith and “knew of the bad feeling between the two females”, although they had never met in person before the fatal attack.
Dowling’s mother told the court Smith was “jealous and obsessed” over her son’s relationship with Chloe.
The prosecution said Chloe and Smith had argued the previous evening, with Smith threatening to “stab her” several times.
Prior to the attack, Dowling was with Chloe and spoke to Smith on the phone, who 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 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 she was there, the witness heard Smith say: “I’m gonna stab you in your throat.”
The two love rivals 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.
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 who 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 was 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 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”.
Smith’s grandfather, Geoff Smith, called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the stabbing and was seen by a neighbour performing CPR on Chloe.
The jury heard Chloe was taken by ambulance to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.40am.
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.
