"I Will Stab You": Chloe, 16, Killed in Pre-Arranged Street Fight Over Boy

A 16-year-old girl was stabbed to death in a pre-arranged street fight over a boy with whom both she and her alleged attacker had been in a relationship, a court has heard. Chloe Watson Dransfield was found with fatal knife wounds to her neck and back on Kennerleigh Avenue in Austhorpe, Leeds, in the early hours of Saturday 28 March and died in hospital a short time later.

Kayla Smith, 18, Archie Rycroft, 20, and Blake Dowling, 18, all from Leeds, are on trial at Leeds Crown Court. Smith has admitted manslaughter but denies murder, while Dowling and Rycroft deny both murder and manslaughter. The prosecution alleges that Chloe was killed by Smith after being taken to the scene by Dowling, who had been in relationships with both girls and knew of the animosity between them.

Opening the case, prosecutor Mark McKone KC told the jury that Dowling had been with Chloe at his mother's house on the night of 27 March but had also been in contact with Smith. The court heard that Smith, who was at her grandfather's home in the Cross Gates area of the city, made repeated threats over the phone to stab Chloe after discovering she was with Dowling. Daily Dazzling Dawn understands the two girls subsequently agreed to fight, and Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith's address.

The jury was told of a series of chilling phone calls leading up to the fatal encounter. Charlotte Parker, who was present at Dowling's mother's house, recounted hearing Chloe say to Smith: "I'm not scared of you, I'm sick of you threatening me, you're still dying over Blake, sending him messages that you still love him." In response, Ms Parker said she heard Smith "screaming" down the phone: "I'm gonna stab you... speaking about my dead baby."

Further evidence came from a friend of Chloe's who was on a FaceTime call with her that night. The witness described hearing Smith shouting: "Blake I'm gonna smash your head in… you better not be with no girls… Chloe better not be there." When Chloe confirmed her presence, the court heard Smith threaten: "I'm gonna stab you in your throat." The final message from Chloe to her friend was to say she was "off to go fight Kayla", accompanied by a picture of herself in the taxi.

The court was shown CCTV footage from a Ring doorbell which captured the moments before the attack. At 5.10am, Smith is seen leaving the summer house in her grandfather's garden wearing pyjamas and "striding quickly" with her right hand raised, holding something shiny. She is heard shouting: "Come on, big girl." Prosecutors allege she then said: "Come on then, I will stab you."

Rycroft was seen on the footage walking behind Smith and holding a phone. Mr McKone stated: "It is the prosecution case that Rycroft recorded the stabbing on Kayla's phone and that Kayla must have handed him her phone for this purpose." The court heard that a video has since been deleted from the phone and has never been recovered. Jurors were told that during the stabbing, an unidentified male could be heard laughing in the background.

Chloe was struck five times shortly after 5am with what is believed to have been a kitchen knife. Following the attack, Smith and Rycroft ran back to her grandfather's home. Additional CCTV footage from 5.12am shows Smith speaking to her grandfather, Geoff Smith, outside the summer house. He is heard saying, "I'm ringing the police," to which Smith replies: "You can't ring the police, she's dead."

Geoff Smith eventually called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the stabbing. He and a neighbour were seen performing CPR on Chloe on the footpath before paramedics arrived. She was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead at 6.40am. The court heard that when police later arrested Smith and Rycroft, they were "laughing and joking" with two friends and using nitrous oxide in front of officers.

In their defence, Dowling denied knowing that Chloe would be caused really serious harm. The jury heard he later told a friend he "thought the girls were going to fight normally and didn't know Kayla Smith had a knife in her hand." Rycroft told police he had followed Smith out of the house "as I was being nosey" and claimed he did not see a knife in her hand.

Mr McKone told the court that Dowling "played a part in organising the violence" by assisting and encouraging Smith and taking Chloe to the scene for the specific purpose of a fight. He added that Rycroft "deliberately encouraged Kayla Smith to be violent by walking with her to the fight, and by trying to film her using violence and by providing support if needed." The trial continues.