Angela Wrightson murder accused asked '˜how does it feel to kill somebody?'

The girl, now aged 15, was with the woman on December 9, 2014 – the day after Ms Wrightson is said to have been murdered at her home in Stephen Street, Hartlepool.

The jury was told that, after picking up the teenager to take her out for the day, the support worker noticed that the girl, then 14, had a bump on her head.

The woman told police in a statement: “I think she said she had fell against a wall.”

She went on to say the girl then mentioned a person being found dead in Hartlepool, at which the woman said she offered her the use of her mobile phone to check the latest news.

The court heard the defendant came across an article on the Mail website, saying the body of woman had been discovered at a house with the headline “Woman found dead in Stephen Street”.

The woman said that, some time later, the girl asked her questions such as “how does it feel to kill somebody?” and “do you think you feel empty?, and “do you think you feel bad?”

The woman said she later asked “how long do you get for murder?” – to which the woman told her that it depended on the circumstances of the offence and the judge.

The court was told the girl then told the woman she would “probably end up in Low Newton Prison”, adding that she would have her own television and a PlayStation games console.

Later that day, the girl was arrested by police on suspicion of Ms Wrightson’s murder.