Victim in murder inquiry was 16-year-old girl

Andrew BartonYorkshire
BBC The image shows a residential street with low, single‑storey houses on either side. Two marked police vans are parked along the road.BBC
Officers were called to Kennerleigh Avenue in Austhorpe on Saturday

Police have formally identified a 16-year-old girl who died in Leeds, prompting a murder inquiry.

West Yorkshire Police said officers attended Kennerleigh Avenue in Austhorpe at 05:55 GMT on Saturday, after the teenager was found unconscious in the street.

She was taken to hospital with serious injuries, but later died in hospital.

The force said the family of the girl, who was from the Cleckheaton area, had been notified and were being supported by specially trained officers.

Det Ch Supt Marc Bowes added: "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."

Four people - two women, both aged 18, a 20-year-old man and a boy, 17 - who were arrested on suspicion of murder remain in custody.

The image shows a residential street lined with single‑storey houses. The focus is on the front boundary fence of one property, where a section of blue‑and‑white tape is tied around the metal railings.
Detectives have now identified the girl as a 16-year-old from Cleckheaton

As an investigation continued on the street, residents said the news of the girls death was "horrifying".

One man said: "It's always been quiet, it's one of the reasons you come here.

"It's a nice peaceful area and you just want to get on with life, but then something like this happens, it's a total shock."

Meanwhile, one local woman said: "The detective came round and they went to every house on this side and every house on that side and I just think it absolutely horrible."

A third resident said: "I'm shocked, really shocked, I feel for the family, it's terrible."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.

Related internet links