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| Katie Rough: Teenage girl jailed for life for killing seven-year-old girl in York park | Katie Rough: Teenage girl jailed for life for killing seven-year-old girl in York park |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A mentally disturbed teenage girl who killed seven-year-old Katie Rough in a park has been given a life sentence by a judge. | |
| The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 15 when she smothered the child and then slashed her with a Stanley knife in York. | The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was 15 when she smothered the child and then slashed her with a Stanley knife in York. |
| A judge ordered the teenager to be detained for a minimum of five years after she admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility in the “truly exceptional case”. | A judge ordered the teenager to be detained for a minimum of five years after she admitted manslaughter due to diminished responsibility in the “truly exceptional case”. |
| Katie’s family were in Leeds Crown Court for the sentencing, where the killer appeared via video-link sitting with her head down and clutching a soft toy. | Katie’s family were in Leeds Crown Court for the sentencing, where the killer appeared via video-link sitting with her head down and clutching a soft toy. |
| The girl did not speak to confirm her identity, with her name spoken by a court usher and youth worker instead. | The girl did not speak to confirm her identity, with her name spoken by a court usher and youth worker instead. |
| “The gravity of the offence of killing a small child speaks for itself,” Justice Soole told her. "The level of danger to the public is high. | “The gravity of the offence of killing a small child speaks for itself,” Justice Soole 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.” | “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.” |
| Katie’s relatives said the end of the legal process came as a relief but it was 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,” the family said in a statement. | |
| “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.” | |
| Relatives expressed their gratitude to the family, friends, York community and well-wishers who raised money in Katie’s memory to provide 10 years of education and welfare for two Ugandan children around her age. | |
| A bench and flowers have been dedicated to Katie in York’s Museum Gardens and a sculpture is being made for the Moorlands Nature Reserve. | |
| “Our hopes for the future are for a loving and safe home for the rest of our family, and we hope we will now find the privacy for that to happen,” the family 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.” | |
| A previous hearing heard the defendant was “troubled and damaged” before she killed Katie in the Woodthorpe area of York on 9 January. | A previous hearing heard the defendant was “troubled and damaged” before she killed Katie in the Woodthorpe area of York on 9 January. |
| Justice Soole had made an interim hospital order for 12 weeks for further psychiatric tests on the teenager ahead of Friday’s sentencing hearing. | Justice Soole had made an interim hospital order for 12 weeks for further psychiatric tests on the teenager ahead of Friday’s sentencing hearing. |
| In July, the court heard she smothered Katie with a gloved hand before slashing her throat and torso with a Stanley knife. | |
| The teenager was found standing in a nearby cul-de-sac covered in blood and still carrying the knife as she rang 999 to tell police what she had done. | |
| Graham Reeds, prosecuting, said the defendant had started self-harming, felt suicidal and had “developed an interest in the macabre” after losing friends at school. | |
| “She was having thoughts that her family and other people were not human and were robots,” he added. | “She was having thoughts that her family and other people were not human and were robots,” he added. |
| “She did not believe this thinking was irrational and that it had some foundation, it was found she was suffering from delusional thoughts.” | “She did not believe this thinking was irrational and that it had some foundation, it was found she was suffering from delusional thoughts.” |
| Nicholas Johnson QC, defending, told the last hearing his client may have been “driven by the irrational belief [Katie] may not have been human and needed proof of this”, and believed the people around her were robots "controlled by a higher and hostile force”. | |
| DCI Andrea Kell, who led the North Yorkshire Police investigation, said it had been “one of the most tragic and challenging” of her career. | |
| “There are no positive results from cases such as these,” she added. "Regardless of the conviction and sentence, nothing will ever replace the loss of Katie. | |
| “The lives of Paul and Alison Rough, and their wider family, have changed forever as a result of the devastating events.” | |
| Ms Kell said she hoped the family could now focus on trying to rebuild their lives, while thanking the emergency services and police involved in the “deeply distressing” investigation. | |
| Elizabeth Jenkins, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire, said the “appalling crime” had caused Katie’s family unimaginable grief. | Elizabeth Jenkins, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for Yorkshire, said the “appalling crime” had caused Katie’s family unimaginable grief. |
| “The defendant pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Katie on the grounds of diminished responsibility and we accepted that plea after very careful consideration of the psychiatric reports,” she added. | “The defendant pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Katie on the grounds of diminished responsibility and we accepted that plea after very careful consideration of the psychiatric reports,” she added. |
| “Our thoughts remain with Katie’s family as they have been throughout.” | “Our thoughts remain with Katie’s family as they have been throughout.” |
| Additional reporting by PA | Additional reporting by PA |