A 14-year-old boy who stabbed Ava White, 12, to death following a row over a Snapchat video, has been jailed.
In November 2021, the schoolgirl was killed in Liverpool city centre after a Christmas lights switch-on event. The teen claimed that he accidentally stabbed her in self-defense. But after a trial he was found guilty, and was sentenced to life with a minimum of 13 years at Liverpool Crown Court, reported BBC.
Ava and her friends had got involved in an argument with the teenager and three of his friends. The argument started after the boys recorded Snapchat videos of her group. The boy "grinned" after stabbing her in the neck with a knife and fled the scene, said Ava's friends. The schoolgirl, who suffered critical injuries, was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital where she died a short while later.
After stabbing the girl, the teen dumped the knife and took off his coat. It was later found in a wheelie bin. Later, CCTV showed him and his friends in a shop where he took a selfie and purchased butter. Then he went to a friend's home. When his mother contacted him to tell him cops wanted to speak to him, he told her that he was playing a computer game. Just two hours after the fatal stabbing, he was arrested.
The killing had caused “shock and revulsion” across Liverpool and beyond, said Justice Amanda Yip. She added that it left Ava’s family with “a life sentence that will never end."
According to The Guardian, when the teen was found guilty in May after a 12-day trial, he became one of the UK’s youngest convicted murderers.
Ava's mother Leanne White broke down in court as she begged the judge to publicly name her daughter's killer, reported Mirror. Later, she broke down on camera during an interview when she called for primary school age kids to be taught about the dangers of knives.
She shared that her family have now organized a "fun day" in Notre Damn to remember her daughter. They plan to wear her favorite color and eat her favorite food as well as hold a football tournament in her memory. She also said that she plans to set up a foundation in her daughter's name with the White Ribbon Campaign, which is on a mission to end violence against girls and women.
