Teenager Admits Killing Younger Sister While On Vacation

A teenager has admitted in court that he killed his younger sister while at a holiday park in Wales, according to reports.

Matthew Selby, 19, from Ashton-under-Lyne in northwest England, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his 15-year-old sister Amanda, according to ITV News.

Police had been called to a "domestic disturbance" at the Ty Mawr Holiday Park in Towyn, in north Wales, on July 31, 2021, the outlet reported.

Selby was due to stand trial for murder this month, a charge which he initially denied, according to ITV News.

The teenager made the confession via videolink from Her Majesty's Prison Berwyn in Wrexham County, Wales.

Prosecuting lawyer Ian Unsworth said his prosecution team, known as the Crown Prosecution in the U.K., accepted Selby's manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility plea after they examined psychiatric reports, according to the broadcaster.

"I too have read the reports from both psychiatrists and plainly I understand the decision taken by the crown," Judge Rhys Rowlands said, according to ITV.

Selby's attorney, Gordon Cole, said the teenager would visit the psychiatrist again before he is sentenced. The teenager is due to be sentenced on March 18, according to the U.K. broadcaster.

In a statement released through North Wales Police, Amanda's family described the teenager as "caring."

It read: "Amanda was a loving daughter and granddaughter—she was caring, thoughtful, liked to help others and very much loved. She will be very sadly missed."

Amanda's school, Droylsden Academy in Greater Manchester, paid tribute to her in a statement shared on its website.

It read: "Our school family is devastated by this awful news. Amanda was a lovely student and she will be sorely missed by students and staff."

Newsweek has contacted North Wales Police for comment.

According to the legal firm Noble Solicitors, under U.K. law a prison sentence for manslaughter typically ranges between two to 10 years.

Last week, Indiana teenager Nickalas Kedrowitz was sentenced to 100 years in prison after he was found guilty of killing his young siblings in 2017, when he was just 13 years old.

In August 2021, a jury in Ripley County found Kedrowitz guilty of the May 2017 killing of Desiree McCartney, his half-sister who was less than two years old and the July 2017 killing of Nathaniel Ritz, his 11-month-old stepbrother, according to the Associated Press.

Despite his young age, Kedrowitz was tried and convicted as an adult and was handed a 50-year sentence for each of the killings.