Jury sworn in for murder trial of 13-year-old girl

Marta Bednarcyzk was stabbed at a property in Wellingborough in March 2025

A jury has been sworn in for the trial of a teenage girl accused of murdering a woman at a Northamptonshire home.

The 13-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has denied murdering Marta Bednarczyk who died on 10 March in Wellingborough.

Ms Bednarczyk, 43, was found with stab wounds at the property after police and fire crews were called to the scene. She was declared dead at the scene.

The teenager appeared at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday and prosecutor Samuel Skinner KC is due to open his case on Tuesday.

A jury of six women and six men was sworn in and they were told the trial's daily hours would mirror those of a school day during proceedings.

Addressing the jury, Judge Mrs Justice Tipples said: "Please don't allow yourself to be influenced by any emotional reaction to this case or sympathy for anyone involved.

"Please keep an open mind and remember that you decide the case on all of the evidence that you hear."

He said none of the lawyers would be wearing robes, and the defendant would be sitting in the back row and not in the dock, because she was a child.

The crown court trial, which is sitting in the city's magistrates' court building, is expected to last until early December.