Ava White died after knife caused 'catastrophic' injuries, court hears

A schoolgirl who was stabbed to death in Liverpool city centre died after the knife caused 'catastrophic' injuries, a court heard.

Ava White died after she was stabbed by a 14-year-old boy - who cannot be named for legal reasons - on the evening of November 25, 2021. The boy, who is known as Boy A, is now standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

He denies murder and manslaughter, but accepts responsibility for the 12-year-old's fatal injury. He has told the court that he acted in self-defence.

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

The court has been hearing the last set of evidence from friends who were with her around the time of the incident on School Lane. A number of boys and girls who were with Ava at the time have already given evidence, with one telling the court how the teen begged her friend 'don't leave me' as she lay bleeding on the ground.

Yesterday (Monday), jurors heard from the pathologist who performed a post mortem on Ava to attempt to establish how she died, the Liverpool Echo reports. The court had already been told that Boy A used a knife with a 7.5cm blade to stab Ava in the left side of her neck.

Dr Jonathan Medcalfe, a pathologist at Royal Liverpool University Hospital, said the wound to Ava’s neck was between five and six centimetres when he examined it. He said the angle and depth of the injury meant it caused multiple serious injuries, going through skin, neck muscles and her windpipe before damaging her jugular vein.

Dr Medcalfe said the combination of damage to Ava’s windpipe and jugular vein meant a significant amount of blood bled into her lungs, posing a very difficult challenge for doctors trying to save her life. He said