CONSULTANT child psychiatrists don't agree on what the 16-year-old girl who killed Katie Rough suffers from.  But they do agree that her condition substantially affected her thought processes, Graham Reeds QC told Leeds Crown Court.

That is why, after discussions at the highest level within the Crown Prosecution Service, the CPS accepted her plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. 

Mr Reeds said her mental health had deteriorated for more than year before she killed Katie.

She had developed an "interest in the macabre" and by the time of Katie's death was under the care of the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services. She had been prescribed fluoxetine for anxiety and depression in December 2016.  Health professionals had flagged up that she may be suffering from psychosis but a formal diagnosis had not been made. 

Consultant child psychiatrist Dr Barry Chipchase of Newcastle, a former member of the parole board, saw her following her arrest on behalf of the defence team.

He was one of four psychiatrists and psychologists who prepared reports for the court.  He decided that she may be developing a psychotic type of personality disorder but did not think she should be sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Fellow Newcastle child psychiatric consultant Dr Cesar Lengua, who saw her on behalf of the prosecution, believed that she should be assessed for a possible depressive disorder. 

Mr Justice Soole said: "I am quite clear there are loose ends. I do want to know more before sentencing in this matter."

He ordered the two consultant psychiatrists to discuss their reports together and draw up a document for them, particularly about whether it would be appropriate for him to pass a hospital order on the teenager. 

He also ordered the youth offending team to prepare a report on the girl, though a team member warned him it may not include anything he had not already learnt from the doctors.