Ava White: Murder accused 'just wanted to frighten her away'

A boy accused of stabbing schoolgirl Ava White to death has told a jury he was "scared" she would "jump" him.

The 12-year-old was killed after a Christmas lights switch-on in Liverpool city centre on 25 November 2021.

The 14-year-old boy, who denies murder and manslaughter but admits having an offensive weapon, told Liverpool Crown Court he had wanted to "frighten her away" as she was "getting in my face".

Asked if he had meant to stab Ava, he replied: "No, I promise you."

The jury has previously heard claims from the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, that he stabbed Ava in self-defence after an altercation.

Giving evidence over video-link, he said he had been in the city centre with three friends when he had filmed a Snapchat video of Ava and her friends "messing on the floor".

The court heard Ava then approached him and told him to "delete the video", before leaving and returning with more of her friends.

The boy said he heard one of the group tell his friend to "delete the video now or I'm going to stab you".

He said Ava then said to her group: "Shall we just jump him now 'cause I feel like it?"

He told the court the schoolgirl had been "quite angry" and was "getting in my face and that".

He said he and his friends walked away, but Ava and her group followed them, shouting.

The jury was shown CCTV of the moment when he stabbed Ava in School Lane.

Asked why he was seen walking backwards at the start of the footage, the boy said he believed Ava had said his name.

"I looked and then she was coming towards me and she was like 'delete the video now, lad', and I was like 'get out of my face'," he said.

"She grabbed me and I... ran backwards and I think I got my knife out then and kept on running backwards.

"I was just trying to get her away, because I was scared."

He said he had wanted to "frighten her away" and had not intended to cause any injury.

He added that he had thought Ava was a boy and he had not known if she was "in possession of a weapon".

The teenager said after stabbing Ava, he ran from the scene, because he was still scared and he did not think he had hurt the schoolgirl.

He said he had left his coat in a garden, not in the wheelie bin where it was found by police, because he was scared of being identified and that he had discarded his mobile "because they always take my phone".

"I have had a few phones took when I was in the police station," he added.

The boy said he initially lied about being in the city centre that evening and then claimed another boy was responsible because he thought he would "get away with it", adding: "I was scared I was going to go to jail."

The court heard on 16 March his legal team told police where he had discarded the knife used in the stabbing, information he said he had offered "because I'm telling the truth and I didn't mean to do it."

Nick Johnson QC, defending, asked him if he had intended to stab Ava in the neck.

"No, I promise you," he replied.

The trial continues.

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