Murder of Ava White

Ava White was a 12-year-old girl who was murdered by a 14-year-old boy on 25 November 2021, in the English city of Liverpool.[1] She was stabbed after a row over a Snapchat video. The boy has not been named for legal reasons.[2]

Background

Ava was a student of Notre Dame Catholic College in Everton.[3]

Murder

On 25 November 2021, Ava and her friends, aged between 11 and 15 were playing and sharing alcohol[4] near the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool while waiting for the switching on of the Christmas lights.[5]

A teenage boy and his friends, aged between 13 and 15 started filming them with intent to share it on Snapchat.[6] Ava aggressively[7] asked them to stop and delete the recording. The unarmed girls ran towards and the teenage boy stabbed her in the neck with a knife, laughed and ran away.[8]

The teenage boy and his friends shortly fled the scene, and disposed of evidence before entering a nearby corner shop and purchasing butter, which Ava’s killer said was “to use on crumpets”. [9] The mother of the boy was contacted by police shortly after the stabbing of Ava. She quickly texted the boy to inform him that the police were searching for him and he replied shortly after to tell her that he was “Not coming home, not going the cells”[10] Four teenage boys were arrested by police in Toxteth later that night. [11]

Ava was taken to Alder Hey Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead at 10.16 pm.[12]

On 28 November 2021, the boy was charged with the murder of Ava White and was also charged with carrying a blade. He was remanded into custody and the three other boys were released without charge.[13]

Following a two-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the boy who had initially denied[14] murdering Ava by saying it was another boy, later claimed to have acted in self-defence.[15] The court was shown CCTV footage, police recorded interviews were presented and a 20-second clip showing the stabbing were played during the trial of the boy.[16] Her friends also testified.[17] Among the footage presented in court is of him and a friend throwing away his coat and knife as they ran from the scene of the murder.[18]

He was found guilty of murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 13 years.[19]

Ava was murdered on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.[14] She is believed to be the youngest victim of knife violence in the UK since Damilola Taylor in 2000.[14]

Memorial
  • On 2 December 2021, Everton F.C. and Liverpool F.C. fans joined in a round of applause as a banner with an anti-knives message was displayed during the game.[20]
  • On 23 January 2022, a crowd bringing along balloons of the figure 13 or the letter A gathered outside Anfield stadium and sang songs in memory of Ava.[21]

See also

References
  1. Smith-Spark, Laura (26 November 2021). "Police launch murder inquiry after 12-year-old girl is killed in Liverpool city center". CNN. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  2. "Ava White: Boy guilty of murdering girl, 12, in Snapchat row". BBC News. 24 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  3. Miller, Joshua Rhett (29 November 2021). "Boy charged with fatally stabbing 12-year-old girl at Christmas tree lighting". New York Post. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  4. "Ava White: Girl, 12, murdered after Snapchat row, jury told". BBC News. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  5. Brown, Mark (24 May 2022). "Boy, 14, guilty of murder of Liverpool schoolgirl Ava White". the Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  6. "Trial date for teenager charged with murder of Ava White". ITV News. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  7. "Ava White: Boy showed 'callous disregard after stabbing girl'". BBC News. 23 May 2022. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  8. "Ava White: Boy, 14, guilty of murdering 12-year-old girl who was stabbed to death after Snapchat video row". Sky News. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  9. Haygarth, Dan (11 July 2022). "CCTV shows boy killer 'buying butter for crumpets' after murder". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  10. Docking, Neil (10 May 2022). "Texts Ava White boy sent to his mum as schoolgirl was dying". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  11. "Four boys, aged 13 to 15, arrested over 'murder' of 12-year-old girl". The Herald. 26 November 2021. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  12. "Boy, 14, charged with murder of Ava White in Liverpool". the Guardian. 28 November 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  13. Hallam, Katy (28 November 2021). "Boy charged with murder of Ava White as others bailed". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  14. Lyons, Izzy; Chandler-Wilde, Helen; Hall, Sam (24 May 2022). "Ava White: 14-year-old boy found guilty of murdering schoolgirl in Liverpool". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  15. Mehta, Amar (19 May 2022). "Ava White death: Boy, 14, accused of murdering 12-year-old girl tells court he just wanted to 'frighten her away'". Sky News. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  16. Barlow, Eleanor; Bancroft, Holly (24 May 2022). "Boy 'thought he'd get away with Ava White murder', court told". The Independent. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  17. "Ava White: Schoolgirl, 12, said she could 'batter' 14-year-old boy accused of fatally stabbing her, court hears". Sky News. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  18. Docking, Neil (24 May 2022). "Ava White murder trial jury sent out to consider verdicts". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  19. Robertson, Kirsten (24 May 2022). "Boy, 14, found guilty of murdering 12-year-old Ava White". Metro. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  20. "Ava White: Everton and Liverpool fans pay tribute to stabbed schoolgirl". BBC News. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
  21. Weston, Alan (23 January 2022). "Huge crowd gathers to pay tribute to Ava White on 13th birthday". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
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