Overview
- At Lincoln Crown Court, the defendant admits unlawfully killing Marta Bednarczyk but denies murder, pleading diminished responsibility.
- The Crown alleges premeditation, citing internet searches about a 13-year-old's potential sentence and messages saying she probably would not be in school for a while.
- A Home Office pathologist reported at least 143 sharp-force injuries, including a skull-penetrating wound to the brain and two to the lungs, with more than one knife used.
- Prosecutors said fire crews pulled Bednarczyk from a smoke-filled living room where she was pronounced dead, and that she was probably dead before the fire was set.
- Jurors heard the girl initially blamed a third party and was later seen smiling in hospital, as prosecutors say expert psychiatrists do not support an abnormality of mental functioning; the anonymized trial continues.