TWO girls, aged 12 and 13, charged with the manslaughter of another teenage girl, were, remanded into secure local authority accommodation when they appeared in court yesterday.
The two appeared before magistrates at the Youth Court in Kettering, Northamptonshire, accused of unlawfully killing Louise Allen (13), at Corby, north of London, on Monday evening.
Police said Louise Allen had, tried to help a girl being attacked by several others at a local funfair on Monday night and was herself set upon and kicked by as many as 30 girls at once. The gang of girls behaved "like a pack of animals", officers said.
Louise suffered massive head injuries and died in hospital on Tuesday after her parents gave permission for life support equipment to be switched off.
The presiding magistrate at yesterday's hearing, Ms June Eastwood, rejected applications from solicitors that each girl should be bailed to live at a secret address.
The girls, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, sat with their parents during a 40 minute hearing. Each spoke only once to say they understood that they were being remanded into the care of the local authority.
Both girls wore sweat tops, tracksuit trousers and trainers and had their hair tied back.
The court ordered that the girls should reappear next Tuesday.
Louise Allen, from Corby, died following the disturbance near her home at around 8 p.m. on Monday.
She was formally declared dead on Tuesday afternoon, when her life support machine was switched off.
A Mass is to be celebrated for Louise at her school, Our Lady and Pope John School, Corby, today. The headmaster, Mr James Platt, said the grief among his students was "tangible".
He described Louise as a normal young teenager who loved sports.