Teenage girls who battered Angela Wrightson to death jailed for 15 years

Victim: Angela Wrightson
PA
Mark Chandler7 April 2016
WEST END FINAL

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Two teenage girls who took selfies as they battered a 39-year-old alcoholic to death with household objects in a five-hour ordeal have been jailed for a minimum of 15 years.

The teens, aged 13 and 14 at the time, used weapons including a shovel, TV set and a stick studded with screws to inflict more than 100 injuries on Angela Wrightson at her home in Harltepool.

Both girls stopped to take photos of themselves over the course of their attack in December 2014, with one even posting an image on Snapchat from the back of the police van afterwards.

While at the house, the younger girl made a phone call over Facebook to a friend who heard her say: "Go on. Smash her head in. Bray her. F****** kill her," as another laughed in the background.

During sentencing at Leeds Crown Court today, the older of the pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wiped away occasional tears as the judge described how they punched, kicked and stamped on Miss Wrightson.

Mr Justice Globe told the 15-year-olds, who were convicted of murder on Tuesday, their "cowardly attack" had included "gratuitous degradation".

He said: "She undoubtedly suffered considerably, both mentally and physically, before she ultimately lost consciousness and died.

"Her alcoholic state, considerable though it was, may have numbed the pain but I stress the word may and it most certainly would not have taken it away."

Detective Chief Superintendent Peter McPhillips, of Cleveland Police, said he had never come across a crime like it in his 25-year career.

Additional reporting by the Press Association.

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