Teens 'Killed Woman While Chatting On Facebook'

The friend of one of two teenage girls on trial for a woman's brutal murder overheard one of them tell the other "smash her head in" or "bray her" during a Facebook messenger call, a jury has heard.

The half-naked body of Angela Wrightson was found at her Hartlepool home last December with more than 100 injuries, at least 80 of them to her head.

The prosecution has said she was attacked with a wooden stick, TV set, computer printer and coffee table.

In a videotaped interview with police, which was played at Teesside Crown Court, the witness said younger defendant broke off their conversation to say: "Go on (name of older defendant)".

She also claimed the girl, who was 13 at the time of the alleged attack, shouted to her 14-year-old friend: "F****** kill her". There was then laughter, she said.

"I thought (the older defendant) might have been having a play fight," she told the police interviewer.

The older defendant, who is now 15, has admitted manslaughter, the jury was told, but her defence will argue she has "an abnormality of her mental function" and can therefore not be convicted of murder.

Psychiatrists for the prosecution and defence, who will give evidence, later in the trial agreed she had the abnormality, but were not able to agree on how it affected her ability to make judgements and exercise self control.

When interviewed by police, she admitted being at Ms Wrightson's house and told detectives the woman's face was already bloodied and was mumbling about someone called Julie.

When she was interviewed by police, she said said Ms Wrightson was "OK" when the pair left.

The court heard the other defendant told the police station custody officer after she was arrested: "I will admit I was in the vicinity, I didn't murder her, I just sat there."

She said the two of them drank cider with the Ms Wrightson.

The girl claimed there was a disagreement before the older girl hit her with the coffee table.

Her friend smashed up the room, then they both went out before returning before the older girl hit Ms Wrightson again, she said.

A blood spatter expert found that both girls had struck blows, prosecutor Nicholas Campbell QC said.

"The prosecution case is that both these defendants are guilty of murder," he said. "The prosecution case is that both the defendants were in this together."