A smirking boy laughed and ran away after stabbing 12-year-old Ava White in the neck, a court heard.
Nearly two dozen members of Ava's family and friends were in court to see a 14-year-old boy accused of her murder go on trial today. Some cried when footage was shown of the moment the schoolgirl was knifed in Liverpool city centre.
The defendant, from South Liverpool, cannot be named for legal reasons. The ECHO will refer to him as Boy A.
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He denies murder and manslaughter. Prosecutors said he admits being responsible for the stabbing, but asserts he was acting in "reasonable self-defence".
He appeared via video link from a special unit, accompanied by an intermediary. Liverpool Crown Court heard he has ADHD and communication issues, and would use a fidget toy to help concentrate.
Charlotte Newell, QC, prosecuting, said paramedics were called to the city centre on the evening of November 25. They found "a young girl collapsed on the floor and bleeding heavily from her neck".
Ms Newell said: "That girl was Ava White. She was just 12-years-old. She had been stabbed in the neck by this defendant, Boy A, who himself was just 14-years-old.
"He had inflicted a single stab wound to Ava with a knife and that knife had been plunged into her neck to a depth of at least 5-6cm, damaging her jugular vein and causing catastrophic bleeding which was to prove fatal."
The jury heard Ava and a group of friends, aged 11 to 15, had shared small bottles of vodka and were "messing around" near the Royal Court Theatre. Footage showed them "dancing and singing", before being told to move on by security staff, at around 8.15pm.
Boy A was in the city centre with three friends, Boys B to D, aged 13 to 15. The two groups were said to have "only a passing knowledge" of one another and met in a "chance encounter".
Ms Newell showed the jury a photo of a "flick knife" she said Boy A was "concealing". It had a blade 7.5cm long and 2cm wide.
She said: "He was to use this knife to stab Ava, causing her fatal wound 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 Boy A and his group delete the footage they had taken without their permission."
CCTV showed Ava get a piggyback from one pal, then lay down in Richmond Street. Ms Newell said Boy A filmed a video of her, which he later shared on Snapchat.
She said Ava asked Boy A and his "laughing" friends to stop filming and delete the clip. Ms Newell said one of her friends told them Ava was "just a baby", before Ava tried to grab a phone from Boy C.
Ms Newell said two older boys, who knew Ava's group, told Boy C to delete any video and said they shouldn't argue with 12-year-olds. The QC said the older boys suggested if they didn't delete the clip, it could result in a fight, but not involving weapons.
The prosecutor said Boy C answered none of them carried blades. The older boys were satisfied the video had been deleted and walked away.
Ms Newell said Ava lay on the floor again and Boy A's group "jeered". She said Ava ran across Church Street and into Church Alley, in their direction.
The QC said Ava approached Boy A in an "angry mood". But she "did not inflict any violence upon him greater than a push, nor did she produce or have any weapon".
The prosecutor said Boy A moved backwards as Ava approached, and there seemed to be some "pushing or shoving", as he continued to move backwards.
Ms Newell said his reaction was not to turn and run, or slap or punch her. She said: "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 we suggest, of a firm punch.”
A 20-second clip, showing the incident near Church Alley's junction with School Lane was played. Ms Newell said Ava immediately grabbed her neck and "it had all happened so quickly" some of her friends assumed at first she had been punched or strangled.
She said Boy A, who would later tell police lies that he wasn't there and try to provide a "false alibi", now claimed he acted in self-defence, fearing he would be assaulted or stabbed. Ms Newell said: "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."
She alleged Boy A "began a conscious cover up" - discarding his knife, designer coat and mobile phone. He went to a shop where he was "seemingly in good spirits", then onto a flat.
Ms Newell said police spoke to his mum, who rang her son and said officers wanted to talk to him about an incident in the town centre. She said he hang up, then text her asking why the "f***" police wanted him, before sending her a photo of a games console he said he was playing on to show police.
Ms Newell said Boy A was arrested shortly after 10pm. He was interviewed several times over the next few days.
The prosecutor said: “He did not say in these interviews that he had stabbed Ava in self-defence as he says now. He told a series of lies about his movements on November 25 and he interspersed those lies with refusals to answer questions at all."
The QC said he claimed he was playing Call of Duty at the time of the stabbing. After being shown CCTV footage of himself in town, he said two older boys with Ava's group had a big knife and threatened to stab Boy C - putting a knife to Boy C's stomach.
Boy A said they tried to walk away, but the other group followed. Ms Newell told the jury Boy A claimed Ava tried to hit him and then "it just went all weird".
The prosecutor said he went on to say another boy stabbed her - a boy who she suggested was "just a figment of his imagination".
(Proceeding)
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