Three teenagers charged with murder of girl, 16, who was stabbed to death in the street after ‘row over boy’

Three teenagers have been charged with the murder of 16-year-old Chloe Dransfield, who was stabbed to death in Leeds on Saturday.

Kayla Smith, 18, of Kennerleigh Avenue, Leeds, and Archie Rycroft, 19, of Middleton Park Road, Leeds, were taken into custody and appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court this afternoon on charges of murder.

They appeared alongside a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons. All three stated their ethnicity as white British.

Chloe Watson Dransfield, from Gomersal, West Yorkshire, died at the weekend from stab wounds she received ‘in her back’ after allegedly getting into a fight ‘over a child’.

The three teenagers appeared together on the dock, with dock officials seated between them, wearing prison-issued gray tracksuits.

The public gallery was filled with family members of the defendants, who began to cry as they were brought to court.

The hearing was told the three teenagers were jointly accused of murdering Chloe on Saturday. District Judge Mark Daley told them: ‘You are all charged with murder. This can only be tried in the crown court and only the crown court can decide whether you will be granted bail.

‘Therefore a hearing is due in the royal court very soon. This will be on Thursday, April 2nd.’

18-year-old Kayla Smith (pictured) appeared in court today on murder charges

Officers were called to Kennerleigh Avenue, a quiet street of bungalows in the Leeds suburb of Austhorpe, at 5.55am on Saturday.

No plea to the murder charges was stated at the hearing. Smith and Rycroft were remanded in custody, while the 17-year-old was held in safe custody until his next hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.

West Yorkshire Police said a further 18-year-old boy from Leeds was arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody, while an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl who were also arrested on suspicion of murder were released on bail pending further investigation into Chloe’s murder.

Chloe, described by her heartbroken family as a ‘loyal, honest, family-oriented princess’, was found unresponsive in the quiet Leeds suburb of Austhorpe at 6am on Saturday.

Despite all the efforts of her neighbors who came to save her, the woman was taken to the hospital and it was announced that she died.

Chloe’s family said they were “completely devastated” by her death and that “the absence she leaves behind is immeasurable”.

This morning, as part of a GoFundMe fundraiser that has raised nearly £15,000 so far, a woman who identified herself as his cousin said her ‘life was destroyed in an instant because of a boy’.

Friends and relatives at the family home in Cleckheaton were left in the dark about the exact circumstances of Chloe’s death.

Chloe (pictured) has been described as a ‘loyal, honest, family-oriented princess’ by her heartbroken family

Smith (pictured), of Kennerleigh Avenue in Leeds, appeared in the dock at Leeds Magistrates’ Court alongside Archie Rycroft, 19, and a 17-year-old boy.

Chloe’s uncle Christopher Watson said: ‘She was a beautiful young woman who had her whole life ahead of her. He found a new place to go to college. He didn’t drink or smoke. ‘He was confused.’

In the statement made by Chloe’s mother and siblings, the following statements were made: ‘My beautiful princess Chloe. I can’t put into words how I feel that you’re not here with me.

‘You are my life, my world, my best friend and I know I’m yours. I can’t live without you, I need you.

‘You are my stunning, confident, loyal, honest and family-oriented princess.

‘When you walk into any room you’ll light up with your bubbly personality. There’s so much I could say. There is a huge hole in my heart that can never be filled.

‘Your two sisters and brother will always love and miss you forever. You will always and forever be in our hearts. ‘I love my mom, Connor, Courtney and Cienna.’

Her father and other family members added: ‘Our family is completely devastated by the loss of Chloe.

‘We miss everything about him. She was beautiful, full of joy, and had an incredibly sassy personality.

‘He embraced life with such happiness that he had his whole future ahead of him.

‘Chloe was loved by everyone who knew her and the absence she leaves behind is immeasurable.

‘We will miss him forever, he will never be forgotten. I will love you always and forever Dad, Sacha, Reuben, Mia, Amelia, Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Jordan.’

A man who tried to help after Chloe’s death said she had been ‘stabbed in the back’.

Chloe, who had recently settled into university to study hair and beauty, attended the party at the bungalow.

Shortly before she was attacked, she texted a friend asking to be picked up.

Despite all the efforts of his neighbors who came to his rescue, the young man was taken to the hospital and died a short time later.

He was found on the side of the road on Kennerleigh Avenue shortly before 6am.

Tragically, her mother, Addel Watson, is said to have learned of her death via social media after attempts to contact her daughter were unsuccessful.

A friend said: ‘Addel and Chloe were great friends; Not just mother and daughter. They never broke off communication.

‘Chloe had a tattoo on her wrist that said ‘mom’. They loved each other very much.

‘He would always text his mother to say ‘good morning’. When Addel couldn’t get a message, he was looking for her everywhere.

‘He didn’t know where he was. Then a friend sent me a link to a news article.

‘This is just devastating. ‘No one can understand what happened.’

On Monday, flowers were being left at the scene in Leeds, about 13 miles from where Chloe lives.

Crime scene officers wearing white protective gear were seen entering one of the homes on Monday.

One of the messages said it was to ‘my beautiful girl’ and ‘rest easy my Chloe’. ‘I will love you forever my crazy girl’.

Local resident Gillian Brook, who looks after the memorials, said: ‘It’s really quiet in this area. This young girl lost her life. His whole life was ahead of him.

‘My grandchild is the same age.’

‘My heart goes out to his family and everyone who knew him. Devastating.”

‘It’s a really quiet area and you don’t expect that. This is very, very sad.’

On the fundraising page, her relative said that ‘unfortunately her life turned into a tragedy, she was 16 years old, she couldn’t even reach the age of 18, her whole life was suddenly lost because of a boy’.

It was claimed that 16-year-old Chloe was stabbed to death in a fight ‘over a child’

The relative added: ‘I wanted to set up a GoFundMe to give him the best send off possible.

‘He didn’t deserve this. He was so full of life. ‘What an innocent and beautiful soul taken so quickly.’

Neighbor Wayne Mallows told how he and other residents tried to save the ‘lifeless’ girl.

The 64-year-old man told the Daily Mail that he performed CPR on the teenager on the sidewalk near his home.

‘I was called home by a dog walker at around 5.50am on Saturday morning,’ he said.

‘He said my neighbor was outside doing CPR on a young girl. He was starting to get tired.

‘I asked if they had called the ambulance and then I noticed there was a phone on the floor and it was on speaker. Ambulance control was giving him instructions.

‘I took over until the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later. He had been stabbed in the back and there was a lot of blood. ‘His eyes were empty.’

The man who answered the door at Chloe’s mother’s house was too upset to comment. A few floral tributes and cards were left outside.

Mr Mallows said he struggled to get the image of the girl’s face out of his mind.

‘When the ambulance arrived around 6am the paramedics removed all the kit and tried to reactivate the heart and were doing chest compressions,’ he added.

‘They did this for about five minutes and then they put him in the ambulance. The police were constantly coming.

‘I have a picture of his face in my mind.

‘He looked very young to me, under 16.’

He added that she was ‘wearing a slightly beige jacket and a dress and thick socks.’

Mr Mallows said Kennerleigh Avenue in the city’s Austhorpe suburb, where Chloe is located, consisted mostly of elderly people’s bungalows and was generally very quiet.

‘There are mostly older people in the bungalows, they come here to retire,’ he added.

Extensive tributes to the teenagers were posted online on Facebook and TikTok.

One read: ‘Rest in eternal peace beautiful girl, you (sic) were loved by so many and will be missed forever.’

Another wrote: ‘Your bubbly personality, your quirky laugh, your embarrassing jokes will forever be unique. ‘You always made everyone feel small and unloved… it’s truly devastating.’

Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, of West Yorkshire Police, said: Our thoughts are with Chloe’s family at this incredibly difficult time. Our specially trained officers continue to support them.

‘Our investigation into his death continues and the five people arrested on suspicion of murder remain in custody as we continue to establish the full circumstances of this incident.

‘I would ask anyone with relevant information to contact us. If you have any mobile phone footage that you think may be linked to this incident, you can submit it to our Major Incident Public Portal using the link below.’