Katie Rough: Teenager sentenced for the death of 7-year-old

A teenager has been sentenced to life, and ordered to be detained for a minimum of 5 years, for manslaughter with diminished responsibility, of seven-year-old Katie Rough in York, by a judge at Leeds Crown Court,

She had pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility earlier this year.

Katie was found on a playing field in York in January with two severe cuts to her neck and chest.

She was taken to hospital but died of her injuries - people in the Woodthorpe area of the city were left shocked with flowers, tributes and teddy bears left near to the scene.

The judge, Mr Justice Soole had previously said he wanted more questions answering by the medical experts before he could pass sentence and had adjourned the case to today.

Clutching a soft toy, the girl sat with her head bowed throughout the sentencing hearing, watching through a videolink from a room elsewhere in the building.

Katie was found with severe lacerations to her neck and chest on a field in the Woodthorpe area of York on January 9 and did not respond to frantic attempts to revive her.

But the judge heard that she actually died from being smothered by her teenage attacker.

At an earlier hearing the court was told that the teenager rang 999 to tell police what she had done.

The judge was told that the girl began suffering from mental health problems more than a year before the killing.

Prosecutors said she had reported delusional thoughts as well as depression, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

They said the girl had talked of being convinced that people weren't human and were robots''.

Nicholas Johnson QC, defending, told the last hearing it may be that his client was driven by the irrational belief (Katie) may not have been human and needed proof of this''.

On Friday the packed court heard that experts still cannot agree on what is the girl's mental disorder, partly because she had failed to engage with doctors.

Mr Johnson said: The defendant is, as yet, unable to address psychologically the causes of her behaviour.''

The girl denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter by diminished responsibility at the hearing in July.

The judge said it was a truly exceptional case'' and told the court:The utter tragedy and devastation of all this needs no emphasis.''

He told the teenager: The gravity of the offence of killing a small child speaks for itself.''

Katie's father wiped his eyes as he left court with her mother, Alison, and many other members of their family who watched proceedings from the jury box.

In a statement read outside court by a police officer, the family said: 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.''

The statement said: Katie's memory will live on in our hearts but also more widely, as a little girl who brought more colour to her world.'