Girl killer says plot to stab mum and daughter to death with her boyfriend was a ‘joke that escalated’
The court heard how the two teen sweethearts accused of knifing Elizabeth and Katie Edwards to death in their beds ate ice cream and tea cakes after the killings
A GIRL of 14 told police “I’d felt like murdering for quite a while” after she and her boyfriend killed a mum and daughter, a court heard.
The teenager said she and her boyfriend, also 14, had “a grudge” against dinner lady Elizabeth Edwards, 29, and daughter Katie, 13.
The teen Twilight fan also said the plot to kill them started as "a joke" that "escalated", a court heard.
The 15-year-old - who cannot be named - told police in an interview: "He was joking. Then he realised I wasn't joking. Then he said he wasn't joking either and it escalated from there."
The boy and girl, both 15, are accused of hatching the plot to kill church-going Elizabeth Edwards, 49, and youngest daughter Katie from a McDonalds three days before the attack.
The girl told cops in an interview: "He constantly asked me if I wanted to go through with it and I was, like, yes and I asked him and he said yes.
"We decided on the Sunday, but I had felt like murdering for quite a while."
Describing the killings, the girl said: "He gave me his backpack. I opened it slowly because I didn't want to make too much noise.
";I took out a black t-shirt with four knives in it. There were two large knives with black handles, like average kitchen knives.
"He said are you sure you want to do this? I said yes, but then in the end I couldn't do it so he did it."
Churchgoing Elizabeth told the boy to “get off” her and was heard "struggling and gurgling", jurors heard today.
Nottingham Crown Court heard how her 13-year-old daughter Katie died moments later after the boy crept into their rooms and repeatedly stabbed them in the throat as they slept.
It is alleged the 15-year-old then suffocated his victims with their own pillows while his female accomplice listened to them "struggling and gurgling" at around midnight on April 13.
The pair were then said to have taken a bath together and eaten ice cream and tea cakes.
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A court heard the couple planned to kill themselves with pills and the girl left a suicide note which read: "F*** you, world. I want to be cremated and want our ashes scattered at our special place".
A jury was told the girl walked in while the boy was on top of Ms Edwards, touched her hand and asked ";is she dead?"
She later told detectives she heard the victims try to scream "get off me" after having their vocal chords cut.
The 13-year-old victim mumbled the words: "I can't.." in a "scary voice" which was "all croaky", the court heard.
Jurors heard how the teens planned the killings during regular walks along a riverbank and discussed in detail how they would target the victims' necks.
The plot started as a "joke" but quickly "escalated" when the teenagers realised they "both wanted it", it was heard.
The court was told how the pair - who were both 14 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons - took a 20-minute bath together after the killings to rinse off the blood before binge-watching vampire romance film series Twilight.
Police discovered the bodies after forcing their way inside Ms Edwards' semi-detached home in Spalding, Lincs and the teens were later arrested.
The teenage boy has pleaded guilty to two counts of murder.
The girl - also 15 - has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility due to her "mental condition at the time".
She appeared in the glass-panelled dock at Nottingham Crown Court wearing a grey cardigan, black leggings and spectacles flanked by a female security guard.
She kept her head bowed as transcripts of her first two police interviews were read to the court.
The girl told police: "He went into her (Elizabeth's) room, she was lying on her side and he stabbed her through the neck.
"I heard her kick out and gurgling.
"I went into the room to see what was going on because I heard noises and I wanted to check he was ok.
"He was on top of her with a pillow over her head. I think I heard her say 'get off me'.
“There was blood on her and on the bed, there were four blood spatters on the wall and he told me to shut the door. All I could see was her shoulder and arms. She was struggling.
"She reached out her hand so I grabbed it and kind of held it. As I realised it was her hand I instantly drew my hand back and got into a cradle position.
"After about ten minutes of putting his weight on her she was dead. She had kind of gone limp and wasn't struggling anymore but she was still making gurgling sounds. I think I said: 'Is she dead?'
"It was a blur, it happened really quickly. He checked her pulse then he took off his shoes so he wouldn't make a noise and went into the other bedroom.
"I didn't want to see anymore so I went in the bathroom. I saw him go into her (Katie's) room with the knife and think I heard her say 'get off me' and 'I can't' but she couldn't say the word 'breathe'.
"He used his full body weight and covered her face with a pillow. When he came out he had blood on his face and hands and on his jumper."
The court heard the teens later fell asleep watching Twilight films together.
The girl added in interview: "We took a bath so we would feel clean and refreshed and wouldn't smell of blood.
"I like Twilight and I said: 'Why don't we watch it?' because I thought he might like it as well.
"He said I should eat something. I didn't really feel like it but I had ice cream and toasted tea cakes then we started watching the third Twilight film.
"We made sure we were both definitely ok with it and he continuously asked me if I wanted to go through with it and I said yes. I said the same to him. It just kind of happened.
"If I was a lot stronger and a bit more mentally capable I would have murdered them. But I don't think I could myself take away all of their thoughts and dreams and memories. I don't think I could ever take that away from someone myself."
The jury previously heard the pair had been plotting the "cold, calculating and callous" murders for several days and went over their plan at a McDonald's restaurant the night before the killings.
It was heard they agreed to stab them through the throat to damage their voice boxes so they would be unable to scream for help.
Katie had two stab wounds to her neck which a pathologist said had been inflicted with "severe force".
Officers found the blood-stained murder weapon on a table in the 13-year-old's room and a backpack containing three smaller knives in the bathroom, the court heard.
The trial continues.