Jury given majority direction in girl's murder trial

A jury trying a 14-year-old girl accused of murdering a woman who suffered more than 140 knife injuries has been given a majority verdict direction.

Jurors at Lincoln Crown Court have heard more than two weeks of evidence over the stabbing of 43-year-old Marta Bednarczyk, who was pronounced dead at a property in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, on 10 March.

Prosecutors allege the girl, who cannot be identified because of her age, conducted online research, planned the killing and "plainly thought she was getting away with murder".

The defendant denies murdering Ms Bednarczyk, claiming she is instead guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility caused by mental health issues.

Giving jurors a majority direction on Monday, High Court Judge Mrs Justice Tipples said: "I ask you once more to retire and to continue to try to reach a unanimous verdict.

"But if you cannot I will accept a majority verdict. This is a verdict with which at least 10 of you agree."

Before being given the majority direction, the jury panel confirmed through its foreman that it had not reached a unanimous verdict after 11 hours and 13 minutes of deliberations.

During the trial, the defendant claimed that in the months before the killing she was hearing voices telling her to harm other people.

Expert witness Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, a clinical psychologist, told the trial that, in his opinion, the teenager was suffering from a "highly distressing" mental disorder affecting her ability to form a rational judgment or exercise self-control.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Samuel Skinner KC told jurors that the Crown alleged the killing was murder because the girl, aged 13 at the time, had planned what she did.

Other psychiatric experts have said her actions were not caused by poor mental health.

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