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 in Leeds and Archie Rycroft, 19, of Middleton Park Road in Leeds have been remanded in custody and appeared before Leeds Magistrates’ Court this afternoon charged with murder.
They appeared alongside a 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons. All three gave their ethnicity as white British.
Chloe Watson Dransfield, from Gomersal, West Yorkshire, died at the weekend after suffering stab wounds ‘in her back’ following an alleged ‘row over a boy’.
The three teenagers appeared appeared together in the dock, wearing grey prison-issued tracksuits with dock officers sitting between them.
The public gallery was filled with members of the defendants’ families, who started to sob when they were brought into court.
The hearing was told the three teenagers were charged jointly with murdering Chloe on Saturday. District Judge Mark Daley told them: ‘You are all charged with murder. That can only be tried at the crown court, and only the crown court can decide whether to grant you bail or not.
‘Therefore there has to be a hearing at the crown court very soon. That will be on Thursday, April 2.’
No pleas on the murder charges were indicated during the hearing. Smith and Rycroft were remanded into custody, while the 17-year-old was remanded into secure accommodation until their next hearing at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.
Another 18-year-old boy from Leeds has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody, West Yorkshire Police said, while an 18-year-old boy and a 17-year-old girl who were arrested on suspicion of murder have been released on bail pending further enquiries into Chloe’s murder.
Chloe, described by her heartbroken family as a ‘loyal, honest, family-oriented princess’, was found unresponsive in the quiet Austhorpe suburb of Leeds at 6am on Saturday.
Despite the best attempts of neighbours who came to her rescue, she was pronounced dead shortly after being rushed to hospital.
Chloe’s family said they were ‘utterly devastated’ by her death and the ‘absence she leaves behind is immeasurable’.
As part of an GoFundMe fundraiser, which has raised nearly £15,000 so far this morning, a woman identifying herself as a cousin said her ‘life was taken in a flash over a boy.’
At the family home in Cleckheaton friends and relatives remained in the dark over the exact circumstances of Chloe’s death.
Chloe’s uncle Christopher Watson said: ‘She was a beautiful young lady with her whole life ahead of her. She just got a placement to go to college. She didn’t drink or smoke. She had her head screwed on.’
A statement from Chloe’s mother and siblings said: ‘My beautiful princess Chloe. I cannot put into words how I feel that you are not here with me.
‘You are my life, my world, my best friend and I know that I am yours. I cannot live without you – I need you.
‘You are stunning, confident, loyal, honest and my family-oriented princess.
‘When you walk into any room it lights up with your bubbly personality. There is so much I could say. There’s a big hole in my heart that can never be filled.
‘Your two sisters and big brother will always love and miss you to infinity. You will always and forever be in our hearts. Love Mum, Connor, Courtney and Cienna.’
Her father and other family members added: ‘Our family is utterly devastated by the loss of Chloe.
‘We miss every single thing about her. She was beautiful, full of joy, and had a wonderfully cheeky personality.
‘She embraced life with such happiness, and she had her whole future ahead of her.
‘Chloe was loved by everyone who knew her, and the absence she leaves behind is immeasurable.
‘We will miss her forever, she will never be forgotten. Love you always and forever Dad, Sacha, Reuben, Mia, Amelia, Grandma, Grandad and Uncle Jordan.’
After Chloe’s death, one man who tried to assist said she had been ‘stabbed in the back’.
Chloe, who had recently secured a college placement to study hair and beauty, had attended the party at the bungalow.
Shortly before being attacked, she had messaged a friend asking to be picked up.
She was found on the roadside in Kennerleigh Avenue shortly before 6am.
Tragically, her mother, Addel Watson, is said to have learned of her daughter’s death through social media after failing in her attempts to contact her.
A friend said: ‘Addel and Chloe were best friends – not just mum and daughter. They were never out of touch.
‘Chloe had a tattoo on her wrist saying ‘mum’. They loved each other so much.
‘She would always text her mum to say ‘good morning’. When Addel didn’t get a message she was looking everywhere for her.
‘She didn’t know where she was. Then a friend sent a link to an news article.
‘It’s just devastating. Nobody is able to comprehend what has happened.’
On Monday, flowers were being laid at the scene in Leeds, some 13 miles from where Chloe lived.
Crime scene officers in white protective clothing were seen going into one of the homes on Monday.
One of the messages said it was to ‘my beautiful girl’ and ‘rest easy my Chloe. Love you forever my crazy girl’.
Looking at the tributes, local resident Gillian Brook said: ‘This area’s really quiet. This young girl’s lost her life. She’d got all her life ahead of her.
‘My granddaughter’s the same age.’
‘My heart goes out to her family and everybody who knew her. It’s devastating.’
‘It’s just a really quiet area and you don’t expect it. It’s so, so sad.’
On the fundraising page, her relative said her ‘life was sadly taken in tragedy, 16 years young, didn’t even make it to her 18th, her whole life was taken in a flash over a boy.’
The relative added: ‘I wanted to create a GoFundMe to help give her the best send-off possible.
‘She didn’t deserve this. She was so full of life. Such an innocent beautiful soul taken too soon.’
Neighbour Wayne Mallows described how he and other residents tried to save the ‘lifeless’ girl.
The 64-year-old told the Daily Mail he performed CPR on the teenager on the pavement close to his home.
‘I was called out of the house about 5.50am on Saturday morning by a dog walker,’ he said.
‘She said that my neighbour was outside doing CPR on a young girl. He was getting tired.
‘I asked if they’d rung an ambulance and then I realised that a phone was on the ground and he had it on loudspeaker. Ambulance control were giving him instructions.
‘I took over until the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later. She had been stabbed in the back and there was quite a bit of blood. Her eyes were just blank.’
A man who answered the door at Chloe’s mother’s home was too upset to comment. Several floral tributes and cards had been left outside.
Mr Mallows said he was struggling to get the image of the girl’s face out of his mind.
‘When the ambulance arrived around 6am the paramedics got all the kit out and tried to reactive the heart and they were doing chest compressions,’ he added.
‘They did that for about five minutes and then got her into the ambulance. Police were arriving all the time.
‘In my mind I have a picture of her face.
‘To me she looked very young, younger than 16.’
He added that she was wearing a ‘blouse with a little beige coat over it, and a dress and she had thick socks on’.
Kennerleigh Avenue, in the Austhorpe suburb of the city, where Chloe was found, consists mainly of old folks’ bungalows, and is usually very quiet, Mr Mallows said.
‘It is mostly elderly people in the bungalows, they come here to retire,’ he added.
Extensive tributes to the youngster were posted online on Facebook and TikTok.
One read: ‘Rest in eternal peace beautiful girl, u (sic) was loved by many and gunna be missed forever.’
Another wrote: ‘Your bubbly personality, your weird laugh, your cringy jokes will forever be unmatched. You always made sure everyone was feeling litty and loved…it’s truly devastating.’
Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle, of West Yorkshire Police, said: Our thoughts remain with Chloe’s family at this incredibly difficult time. Our specially-trained officers continue to provide them with support.
‘Our investigation into her death is ongoing and five people arrested on suspicion of murder remain in custody, as we continue to establish the full circumstances of this incident.
‘I am appealing to anyone with any relevant information to contact us. If you have any mobile phone footage that you believe might be connected to this incident then you can send it to our Major Incident Public Portal at the below link.’
