Ava White begged her friends 'don't leave me' after being stabbed in neck, court hears

A schoolgirl who was stabbed to death begged her friend "don't leave me" as she lay bleeding on the ground, a court has heard.

Ava White, 12, died after she was stabbed by a 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, during the evening of November 25, 2021, on School Lane in Liverpool city centre. Her friends initially thought she was punched before realising there was blood pouring from her neck.

The boy, who is known as Boy A in the case, denies murder and manslaughter, but accepts responsibility for her fatal injury. He has told the court that he acted in self-defence.

READ MORE:Woman, 20, suffers serious facial injuries in 'unprovoked attack by group of youths'

The jury at Liverpool Crown Court heard more evidence this morning about the moments leading up to the young girl's death. CCTV footage showed Ava and her friends buying vodka from a shop on London Road, the Liverpool Echo reports.

The group then walked towards Williamson Square after a security guard who saw them ripping up plants asked them to leave. Girl H, similarly to other children who have given evidence, said her group then became involved in an argument with some boys after noticing that they were filming them on their phones.

Girl H said Ava, who was upset, asked them to delete the videos. She said they argued for some time before both groups made their way separately across Church Street.

She then heard Boy A shout “look at the state of youse”, prompting another argument between him and Ava. Girl H said she saw Boy A move towards Ava and hit her and that she then chased after him with other friends as he ran away.

She said: “I tried to go up to them. They just ran away. I ran back to Ava and Ava was on the floor lying down. We was