Boy tells murder trial he stabbed Holly Newton in Hexham

The boy told the court he was an avid computer gamer and “got used” to being in virtual reality and “started thinking [he] was not in the real world”.

He said people would come back to life after being killed in games which, coupled with his own failed suicide attempts, made him “probably start thinking you couldn’t really die”.

He said he had seen people “reset” after being attacked with knives and guns in video games.

The accused told the jury that when he was told a pet had died he “thought it was lies”, and when his grandfather died he believed he had just gone on holiday.

Since Holly’s killing, he said, he now understood what death was, adding: “[There’s] not really any way of coming back from it.”

Mr Edwards asked: “Did you want to kill Holly?”

The boy replied: “No.”

Jurors have previously heard he told police he had been trying to stab himself and his mind went “blank”.