Girl, 16, ‘knifed to death in planned fight over boy they were both dating’

Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, died after being stabbed in Leeds on Saturday (Picture: West Yorkshire Police/PA Wire) A teenager was stabbed to death in the street by another girl in a pre-planned fight over a boy, a jury has heard. Chloe Watson Dransfield, 16, was killed by Kayla Smith, 18, after being taken to the scene by Blake Dowling, 18, with whom both girls had been in a relationship, a court heard. Jurors were told Smith made threats over the phone to stab Chloe after finding out about her relationship with Dowling on March 27 this year. The two girls agreed to fight, and Dowling booked a taxi to take Chloe to Smith’s home in the Austhorpe area of Leeds in the early hours of March 28. Prosecutor Mark McKone said that Smith came out of the summer house in her grandfather’s garden, where she lived, followed by her friend Archie Rycroft, 20. Sign up for all of the latest stories Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens. The court heard Smith approached Chloe with a knife and stabbed her five times in her neck and back. Smith has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder. Dowling and Rycroft – the latter of whom is accused of filming the attack – both deny murder and manslaughter. Opening the case to jurors at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday, Mr McKone said Dowling had been in a relationship with Smith and Chloe, and “knew of the bad feeling” between them. The court heard that in the hours leading up to the fight, Dowling was with Chloe at his mother’s house but had been in contact with Smith. Mr McKone said Smith made repeated threats over the phone to stab Chloe. Charlotte Parker, who was in the house with them, said she heard Chloe telling Smith over the phone: ‘I’m not scared of you, I’m sick of you threatening me, you still dying over Blake, sending him messages that you still love him.’ Ms Parker said she heard Smith ‘screaming’ over the phone. The court heard that about two hours before Chloe’s death, Smith messaged Dowling saying: ‘Listen, I love you Blake. I will never find someone that I love like you. Please stop.’ A friend of Chloe’s, who was on FaceTime with her that night, claimed 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 allegedly heard Smith say: ‘I’m gonna stab you in your throat.’ The court heard that Chloe messaged her friend, saying she was ‘off to go fight Kayla’ along with a picture of herself in the taxi. Mr McKone said CCTV showed Smith leaving her summer house at 5.10am wearing pyjamas and ‘striding quickly’ with her right hand raised, and holding something shiny. Ring doorbell footage played in court showed Smith shouting: ‘Come on, big girl.’ Prosecutors allege Smith can then be heard saying: ‘Come on then, I will stab you.’ The stabbing was not captured on the doorbell footage, but jurors were told that a male could be heard laughing and Rycroft was seen on the footage walking behind Smith and holding a phone. Mr McKone said: ‘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 been deleted from the phone and has never been recovered. After the stabbing, Smith and Rycroft ran back to Smith’s home. CCTV footage taken at 5.12am, about one minute after the attack, shows Smith and Rycroft with Smith’s grandfather, Geoff Smith, outside the summer house. Geoff Smith is heard saying: ‘I’m ringing the police,’ to which Smith replies: ‘You can’t ring the police, she’s dead.’ Geoff Smith called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the attack 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, Mr McKone 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. The court heard Smith accepts stabbing Chloe and causing the fatal wound, but denies intending to kill her or cause her really serious harm. Mr McKone said: ‘The prosecution say that Blake Dowling played a part in organising the violence. ‘Blake Dowling assisted and encouraged Kayla Smith to be violent to (Chloe) by taking (her) to the scene for the specific purpose of a fight.’ He told jurors 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. Arrow MORE: Woman’s assault investigation dropped by police ‘because suspect didn’t answer door’ Arrow MORE: British DJ confirmed as victim of Krakow shooting that left six dead Arrow MORE: Bloke ‘steals’ almost everything from pub toilet – including soap and wall signs Breaking News Never miss the biggest stories with breaking news alerts in your inbox.