‘Robot fear’ girl of 16 gets life for killing Katie, 7
A TEENAGER who killed a sevenyear-old girl on her way home from school was yesterday jailed for life.
Katie Rough was walking through a field in York last January when the 16-year-old, who was then 15, smothered her and slashed her with a knife.
Appearing via video link at Leeds Crown Court, the killer sobbed as she slumped forward with her head bowed. Throughout the sentencing hearing she cradled a soft toy.
The teenager, who cannot be named, denied murder but admitted manslaughter, due to diminished responsibility, at a hearing in July.
Tormented by delusions, depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts, she feared some humans were “robots”, those proceedings heard.
She became distressed when one doctor asked her “whether she killed Katie to test whether she was a robot”, the court heard.
The teenager has not spoken in any of her court hearings.
Yesterday, Mr Justice Soole jailed her for life, with a minimum of five years before she can be considered for release. He told her: “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.”
What precisely happened in the field that day “is known only to you”, he added.
The teenager remains unwilling or unable to engage with psychiatrists.
Nicholas Johnson, defending, said: “She was fundamentally driven to this killing by her mental disorder. All the experts are of that view.”
Katie’s mother Alison, 38, and father Paul, 34, said in a statement issued through police: “Today is the end of a process, and that is a relief, but it is not the end of our story.
“Our story is about a loving home and family that was torn apart on a day when we lost our daughter.”
They added: “Katie’s memory will live on in our hearts.”