A 16-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has been given a life sentence for the killing of 7-year-old Katie Rough in a park in York, UK.
The teen was jailed for a minimum of 5 years as her own lawyer admitted that there were no other clear means of protecting the public.
The killer appeared via a video link at the Leeds crown court. She didn’t say a word and was identified by a youth worker when the judge, Mr. Soole, asked for her name.
Judge Poole proceeded to hand her a life sentence as she didn’t show any remorse for the vicious act of slashing the child’s throat with a Stanley knife in the park.
“The level of danger to the public is high. In the circumstances of your continuing silence, the critical question is whether there is any reliable estimate as to how long that danger will continue.”
The judge took her continued silence very badly, stating that this means that what exactly happened in the park there “is now only known to you.”
“Further and most disturbing evidence points to this being planned and based on delusional thoughts. In this truly exceptional case, I have concluded that it is necessary to impose a sentence of detention for life.”
The teen’s lawyer, Mr. Nicholas Johnson explained that the teen girl had posted a picture on Instagram two days before the murder showing self-harmed wounds to her arms made with pencil blades under which she had written the caption: “Mentally, seriously, not OK.”
Mr. Johnson told the judge in her defense she was “clearly crying out for help and support.”
Young Katie’s parents wept their eyes as they left the court, saying: “Our story is about a loving home and family that was torn apart on a day when we lost our daughter.”
“Our story goes on into a future where our home feels very empty, but we will keep going for sake of our other children and our grandson.”
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Mentally ill and never should be allowed back into society.