A teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his history teacher at a school in Wales, a court has heard.
A teenage boy has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of his history teacher, in a trial that opened at Swansea Crown Court. The defendant, who was 15 at the time of the alleged attack and is now 16, cannot be named for legal reasons. The case relates to an incident at Milford Comprehensive School in Pembrokeshire on February 5, in which teacher Vicki Williams was allegedly stabbed with a kitchen knife.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Christopher Rees KC told the jury that the boy had entered Ms Williams’ classroom at around 3pm and approached her desk, asking her to check some schoolwork. According to the prosecution, he then closed the classroom door, telling her it was cold.
Ms Williams has said that, at that point, she began to suspect something was wrong, later describing having seen “hatred in his eyes”. The prosecution alleges that the boy then produced a large kitchen knife from his bag and stabbed her in the head, without speaking.
A struggle is then said to have followed, during which Ms Williams cried out loudly for help before managing to wrestle the knife away from him. Once disarmed, the boy ran from the school.
He was arrested later that day at a family member’s home. Ms Williams was taken to Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, where she was treated for a wound to her scalp, cuts to her head and scratches to her back. She survived the attack.
Mr Rees told the jury the attack was sustained and deliberate, alleging that the boy “deliberately stabbed Vicki Williams to the head and continued the attack”, and that he would have carried on had she not managed to disarm him. The prosecution’s case is that the attack was premeditated; the defendant denies attempted murder, and the trial continues.
