Teenager 'obsessed' with boy murdered 16-year-old love rival in pre-planned fight despite never meeting her in person before, court told

A teenager has admitted the murder of a 16-year-old love rival whom she stabbed five times in a pre-arranged fight over a teenage boy she was allegedly 'obsessed' with – despite them having never met. 

Chloe Dransfield died after being attacked by beautician Kayla Smith, 18, following an escalating row over a boyfriend they had both been in 'on-off' relationships with.

The pair had argued at least 20 times, with Smith frequently threatening to stab the 16-year-old, but had not met in person until the night of the murder, the court was told. 

Smith, of Austhorpe, had denied murdering Chloe outside her grandfather's home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the early hours of May 28 this year.

However, on the second day of her trial, jurors were told that she had changed her plea to guilty.

Judge Mr Justice Kavanagh, KC, told them: 'The defendant, Kayla Smith, had changed her plea and has now pleaded guilty to murder. That means she had admitted the charge of murder.'

Jurors retired briefly before returning to formally announce a verdict of guilty.

Smith was told she faces 'custody for life' when she is sentenced at a later date. She had previously admitted inflicting the five stab wounds to Chloe's back and neck, but denied murder.

Chloe Dransfield, 16, died on the morning of March 28 after being stabbed five times in the back and neck

Kayla Smith, 18, today pleaded guilty to Chloe's murder on the second day of her trial

Chloe, who used the surname Watson, had travelled by taxi to Smith's home in Leeds, West Yorkshire, with boyfriend Blake Dowling, 18, who had previously dated Smith, from Dowling's mother's house. 

He is accused of helping to set up the confrontation despite knowing of the bad blood between the two teenagers. 

Dowling's mother said Smith was 'jealous and obsessed' over her son's relationship with Chloe, and it was heard in court they had rowed the previous evening. 

The court heard that Smith and Chloe had been 'at war' over Dowling – despite never having met in person. Dowling is also accused of murder.

A friend of Chloe's told the jury Smith had repeatedly threatened to stab her rival in messages and voice notes sent over social media apps.

Giving evidence at the opening of the trial yesterday, the teenage witness said Smith began dating Dowling when she was just 13 and remained 'obsessed' with him.

She said: 'Chloe always told me "Kayla's saying she's going to stab me again", laughing about it.

'It's been quite a few times - every time they've argued. About 20 times, probably.'

Smith was seen inhaling laughing gas before stabbing 16-year-old Chloe 

Smith, 18, threatened to stab Chloe several times before the encounter on May 28 this year

The friend told how tensions erupted in the hours before Chloe's murder, when Smith repeatedly called Dowling from a withheld number.

Smith began 'screaming' after discovering her ex-boyfriend was with Chloe, with whom he had been in an 'on-off' relationship for around a year.

The witness said: 'Kayla said: "Come here, I'm going to stab you in your throat".

'Chloe said: "Try stab me in the throat and I'll take it right out of your hands".'

Later the teenage friend told how Chloe had messaged her: 'I'm off to go and fight Kayla'.

She added in her police-recorded interview: 'Five minutes later she sent me a photo of herself in the taxi. That was the last time I spoke to her.'  

A third defendant, Archie Rycroft, 20, is also accused of encouraging the violence by filming the fatal attack on Smith's mobile phone before it was later deleted. 

The court heard on Wednesday how Smith, who lived in a garden annexe at her grandfather's bungalow in the Austhorpe area, had become embroiled in a series of heated exchanges with Chloe in the hours before the stabbing.

She was alleged to have boasted about being better in bed, and told Chloe: 'I am going to batter you. Watch what I will do to you.'

A friend of Chloe's who was on FaceTime with her that night said 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.' 

She then threatened: 'I'm gonna stab you in your throat.'

Around 34 minutes before the 5.11am killing, Smith messaged a cousin to say: 'I'm stabbing her, on my nana's ashes'.

Seventeen minutes later she messaged again 'she's on her way' and 'I'm stabbing her.'

Opening the case at Leeds Crown Court, Mark McKone, KC, said: 'The prosecution say that this was a pre-planned fight. The prosecution say that Kayla Smith was the person who inflicted all the blows including the fatal blow with a knife.

'Blake Dowling had been in a relationship with the deceased, Chloe; and Blake had also been in a relationship with the defendant, Kayla Smith. Blake knew of the bad feeling between the two females.'

Footage from a neighbour's Ring doorbell captured Smith 'striding quickly' across the pavement with 'something shiny' in her hand, shouting 'come on, big girl' and 'Come on then I will stab you'.

She was also captured on camera inhaling laughing gas before the attack, and running back to the summer house in her grandfather's garden afterwards. 

Chloe was stabbed three times in the back and twice in the neck with a 20cm kitchen knife. A fatal 13cm wound to her back penetrated her lung, a post-mortem concluded.

Neighbours tried to perform life-saving resuscitation after finding Chloe gravely ill on the pavement in a large pool of blood.

CCTV footage taken at 5.12am, about one minute after the stabbing, shows Smith and Rycroft with Geoff Smith outside the summer house.

Geoff Smith is heard saying 'I'm ringing the police' and Smith replies: 'You can't ring the police, she's dead.'

Mr Smith called for an ambulance 37 minutes after the stabbing, 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, it was said.

Police who arrived at the scene found canisters of nitrous oxide – laughing gas – scattered around Smith's annexe.

They told how the outbuilding had a 'strong stench' of cannabis.

PC Nicholas Taylor said: 'Kayla Smith came to the door and was wearing pyjamas, stating she hadn't heard or seen anything.

'Shortly after this, another female arrived at the scene and went storming into the outhouse, demanding to be let in.

'We then noticed that inside the outhouse were also two males. They denied any knowledge or involvement in any incident, and stated that there had been nobody else present at the address the night before.

'The building had a strong stench of cannabis. There were a number of large nitrous canisters.'

Smith accepted stabbing Chloe and inflicting the fatal wound but had denied murder. She has been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.

Dowling accepts taking Chloe to Smith's home in a taxi, knowing the females might fight, but denies knowing that Chloe would be seriously harmed.

Rycroft accepts following Smith into the street but said he was simply 'being nosey' and did not film the confrontation.