Schoolboy denies telling lies over alleged knife attack on teacher – court

A schoolboy has denied lying about the circumstances in which he allegedly stabbed a teacher at a school in west Wales, a court heard.

The 16-year-old is accused of knifing Vicki Williams in the head at Milford Haven Comprehensive School, Pembrokeshire, in February.

The schoolboy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, denies a charge of attempted murder.

Giving evidence, the teenager told the court that immediately after the incident he left the school and went to his grandmother’s house.

Asked why he left, the boy said: “Because of the situation, because of the whole situation, it wasn’t meant to happen.”

Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, asked why he did not stay at the school to “explain himself”.

“Because I was in shock,” he replied.

The court previously heard the alleged attack happened after the pupil approached her desk and asked her to check some of his work.

The boy went on to tell the jury Mrs Williams looked shocked during the incident and agreed she had been terrified.

“I pulled out the knife, because she told me to, then she tried fighting it off me, and then she started screaming,” he said.

“What you did was stab her in the head,” Mr Rees suggested in cross-examination.

He replied: “No. I had a knife in school, the teacher saw me with it, she tried to grab it off me, and I accidentally assaulted her.”

The jury was shown CCTV of the teenager leaving the school, and then he went to his grandmother’s, telling her: “Something went in my head, nan.”

“Did you say that because you knew you had stabbed Mrs Williams?” the prosecutor asked.

“No,” he replied.

The jury was told that during police interviews in the presence of a solicitor he had answered “no comment” to questions.

Asked why, he replied: “I was in shock, and I couldn’t think. I didn’t tell the police it was an accident, because I was still in shock.”

Mr Rees asked: “I am going to suggest to you that you are lying because you know exactly what happened.

“When are you saying that your memory came back?”

He replied: “I’d say a couple of weeks, maybe two or a month, I started to regain the memory and then I remembered more.”

Mr Rees asked: “Was it because you had not made up your defence that you answered ‘no comment’ when the police asked you questions?

“No,” he replied.

The boy, who was 15 at the time, said Mrs Williams was lying about the circumstances.

“Mrs Williams said the look on your face was pure hatred. Was she telling the truth or was she lying?” Mr Rees asked.

“Lying,” he replied.

Mr Rees asked: “The only reason this attack stopped was because she fought with you, grabbed the blade of the knife, and started screaming, and you panicked and ran, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, she was screaming,” the boy said.

“You have no idea, according to you, how she ended up with that injury to the back of her head, the stab wound to the back of the head,” Mr Rees asked.

“No,” he replied.

“You’ve deliberately stabbed her in the head,” he asked.

“No,” the boy replied.

He added: “I didn’t want to get in trouble for it. I didn’t want her to have the knife and then call the police and all.

“I wanted to get the knife, I wanted to get the knife back.”

“She fought for her life, didn’t she?” Mr Rees asked.

“Not for her life, no,” he said.

The teenager said he was remorseful for what happened to Mrs Williams and he was not “lying to save his own skin”.

“You took that knife to school to attack Mrs Williams and that’s what you did? You intended on killing?” Mr Rees asked.

“No,” he replied.

“I am going to suggest that only because she fought back that she is still here today. That is the truth, isn’t it?” Mr Rees asked.

“No,” the boy replied.

The court previously heard Mrs Williams attended hospital in Haverfordwest and was found to have sustained a wound to her scalp, scratches on her back and minor cuts to her hands.

The boy denies attempted murder, unlawful wounding and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The trial continues.