‘Innocent’ girl, 16, was ‘stabbed in the back in fight over boy’

The family of a schoolgirl found dying from fatal injuries in a Leeds street have spoken of their heartbreak.

The victim, named by family and friends as Chloe Watson, was found with fatal injuries in Kennerleigh Avenue, Austhorpe at 6am on Saturday.

Police said the teenager, from the nearby Cleckheaton area, was found unconscious in the street.

She was found to have suffered serious injuries and was taken to hospitalbut was sadly pronounced deceased shortly afterwards.

Four people – two teenage girls aged 18, a man aged 19 and a boy aged 17 – remain in custody after they were arrested yesterday on suspicion of murder.

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’16 years young.

She didn’t even make it to her 18th – her whole life was taken in a flash over a boy.

‘Her mum is distraught; she has left two younger siblings behind.’
She added: ‘I wanted to create a GoFundMe to help give her the best send off possible.

‘She didn’t deserve this; she was so full of life, such an innocent, beautiful soul taken too soon.’
‘I was called out of the house about 5.50am on Saturday morning by a dog walker,’ he said.

‘She said that my neighbour was outside doing CPR on a young girl.

He was getting tired.

‘I asked if they’d rung an ambulance and then I realised that a phone was on the ground and he had it on loudspeaker.

Ambulance control were giving him instructions.

‘I took over until the ambulance arrived 10 minutes later.

She had been stabbed in the back and there was quite a bit of blood.

Her eyes were just blank.’
Other friends expressed their heartbreak over Facebook.

One wrote: ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do life without you.

A part of me is gone with you.

Another said: ‘Absolutely heartbreaking.

What a cruel world.

How has this even happened on our on estate with our own people?

‘A young beautiful girl losing her life, may she get the best bed in heaven, and may her family find the strength to get through this.’
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Superintendent Marc Bowes, said: ‘Following our appeal for further information yesterday, we have now identified the deceased as a 16-year-old girl from the Cleckheaton area.

‘Her family have been informed and we are supporting them as they try to come to terms with what has happened.’
‘Our enquiries into the incident which led to her death are continuing, and I would appeal again to anyone who was in the Kennerleigh Avenue area in the early hours of yesterday morning to come forward if they have any information which could assist our investigation.’