Ava White was stabbed after a disagreement with teenagers over video they had taken, a trial hears.
Image source, Family handout
A teenager stabbed a 12-year-old girl to death after she objected to being filmed, a court has heard.
Ava White died from her injuries after she was stabbed in Liverpool city centre while out with friends on 25 November 2021.
Liverpool Crown Court heard a 14-year-old boy killed Ava with a knife with a 7.5cm (2.9in) blade after they met by chance at a Christmas lights switch-on.
The boy has pleaded guilty to having an offensive weapon but denies murder.
Charlotte Newell QC said: “That knife was used to stab Ava, causing her fatal wound.
“That was done after they argued over the fact that he and his group had, without permission, filmed the antics of Ava and others in her group.
“Ava in particular was appalled and angry that they were filming her and was quite insistent that they delete the footage.”
The boy laughed and ran away after the attack before attempting to cover his tracks, the prosecutor said.
She said Ava and her friends, all aged between 11 and 15, had shared some alcohol and had been “messing around” near the city’s Royal Court Theatre before being told to move on by security staff at about 20:15 GMT.
They moved to Richmond Street, where the defendant and his friends saw them and he began to film a video which he would later share on Snapchat, Ms Newell said.
‘Conscious cover-up’
Ava and a friend approached the boys and asked them to stop filming and delete the footage, before being joined by more of her friends, including two older boys.
The jury was told the older boys left but the defendant and his friends then “jeered” at Ava, causing her to run towards them.
A 20-second clip showing the stabbing in School Lane was played to the court, which showed Ava approach the defendant.
Family members were in tears in the public gallery as the footage was played.
Image source, PA Media
Ms Newell said Ava had approached the defendant but did not “inflict any violence upon him greater than a push, nor did she produce or have any weapon”.
She said the boy’s reaction was not to turn and run or to slap or punch her.
Ms Newell told the court: “Instead it was to thrust a knife into the neck of this unarmed child with what the pathologist was to determine was moderate force, the force of a firm punch.”
She said the defendant now claimed he was acting in self-defence, fearing he would be assaulted or stabbed.
The prosecutor added: “However, his reaction at the time was to smirk, to laugh and to run away, leaving Ava to die whilst he sought to distance himself from his actions.”
The court heard he “began a conscious cover-up” of the crime, discarding his knife, phone and coat.
Mrs Justice Yip told the jury the defendant had attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and they may see him using a fidget toy to help his concentration.
The defendant, who cannot be named due to his age, also denies an alternative count of manslaughter.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
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- 18 February
- 1 December 2021
