Jurors in the Ava White murder trial will have to put aside "sympathy" and "emotions", a judge said today.
The trial over the death of the 12-year-old formally began at Liverpool Crown Court this morning. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies her murder.
Ava died on Thursday, November 25 last year after visiting Liverpool city centre with friends to watch the Christmas lights switch-on. Police said she was involved in a "verbal argument" in Church Alley, which escalated into an "assault on her with a knife", at around 8.35pm.
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The Year 8 pupil at Notre Dame Catholic College was taken to hospital, but died from what a post-mortem examination found was a single stab wound to her neck. The boy, from South Liverpool, has admitted having an offensive weapon, namely a knife.
High Court judge Mrs Justice Amanda Yip asked for 47 potential jurors to be brought into the courtroom as the boy, accompanied by an intermediary, watched on via video link from a remote location.
The judge told the jury panel it was a case "that I expect many of you will have either heard or read something about". She said the first stage of selecting a jury was completing a questionnaire to establish whether any of them had a connection to the case or anyone involved in it, or if there was any reason why they should not be selected.
Justice Yip said: "This trial concerns the death of Ava White, a 12-year-old girl who died in November last year in Liverpool city centre. The defendant, who is the boy you can see on the screen… is 14 years old and is charged with murdering Ava.
"As I've already said, I realise that many of you will have heard something about Ava's death at the time. It was in the news, it was reported widely, and if you did see or hear news reports, you might have formed some views about the case at the time.
"It would be perfectly normal to feel shock, to feel upset about the death of a child, particularly when that happens close to home. And you might even have talked about it with family and friends - all perfectly understandable."
Justice Yip said the 12 people selected would be "presented with all the relevant evidence". She said they would be told "what the issues in the case are" and what they must decide to determine whether the boy is guilty or not guilty of murder.
The judge said: "No one has yet heard the evidence in this case. So any views that you or anyone else might have formed obviously cannot be the sort of informed views that a jury is going to have at the end of the case. The verdict that the jury reaches must be reached on the basis of the evidence they hear in court and nothing else."
She added: "I will give the jury some detailed instructions about determining the case only on the evidence and putting sympathy and other emotions aside. Any views that anyone might have formed before hearing the evidence obviously will need to be put aside and most people will be perfectly capable of doing that."
The judge said those with a personal connection to the case, or knowledge beyond the public facts of the case, should raise it on the questionnaire, because it wouldn't be fair for them to be on the jury. She said they should also highlight pre-booked holidays or medical appointments.
The trial has a three-week estimate, but the panel were asked to indicate whether they were available up until June 17 - six weeks away.
The court heard there are reporting restrictions in the case, because the defendant and many of the witnesses are children. Justice Yip said a court order prevented publication of the names and personal details of any people involved under the age of 18.
The judge said: "Those details should not be shared - for example putting anything on social media would be a breach of that court order. Please be aware of that."
Charlotte Newell, QC, is prosecuting the case, with junior counsel Frederick Hookway. Mr Hookway read out a list of witnesses' names, including friends of both Ava and the defendant.
Justice Yip said the jury panel should flag if they recognised any of the names. The judge said there were also "questions asking about your awareness of the incident and specifically whether any of you attended the vigil for Ava White, held on December 4".
The panel were also warned not to discuss the case after leaving court. Justice Yip said: "I know when you get home the normal thing is for people to say 'Oh, what are you doing?' It might be something you may be tempted to talk about but because you might be jurors, please don't say anything."
Justice Yip said the panel might feel "anxious" or "daunted" about being jurors in a murder trial. She said that was normal and jurors would be given all the instructions they need if selected.
The jury will be sworn in on Monday, when the trial is expected to open.
(Proceeding)
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