Jury discharged in murder trial over Wellingborough killing

A jury in a trial of a 14-year-old girl accused of murdering a woman has been discharged after it was unable to reach a verdict.

Jurors at Lincoln Crown Court heard more than two weeks of evidence over the stabbing of 43-year-old Marta Bednarczyk, who was pronounced dead at a property in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, on 10 March.

The defendant, who cannot be identified because of her age, denied murdering Ms Bednarczyk, claiming she was instead guilty of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility caused by mental health issues.

A new trial will begin on 5 May 2026 at Lincoln Crown Court.

High Court Judge Mrs Justice Tipples sent the jury out to consider its verdict on 9 December and on Monday jurors were instructed to give a majority direction.

Following a continued impasse, however, the judge said she was satisfied the jury would not reach a verdict and discharged them after 16 hours and 48 minutes of deliberations.

Ms Bednarczyk died after suffering more than 140 knife injuries, the trial heard.

The defendant claimed that in the months before the killing she was hearing voices telling her to harm other people.

Expert witness Sir Simon Baron-Cohen, a clinical psychologist, told the trial that, in his opinion, the teenager was suffering from a “highly distressing” mental disorder affecting her ability to form a rational judgment or exercise self-control.

At the start of the trial, prosecutor Samuel Skinner KC told jurors that the Crown Prosecution Service alleged the killing was murder because the girl, who was aged 13 at the time, had planned what she did after conducting online research.

Other psychiatric experts had said her actions were not caused by poor mental health.