Murder accused carried knife for protection - court

A 15-year-old schoolboy who stabbed a fellow pupil to death has told a jury he was carrying a "scary-looking" knife for self defence.

The boy, who cannot be named due to his age, is on trial at Sheffield Crown Court charged with the murder of Harvey Willgoose.

Harvey, also 15, died after being stabbed during his lunch break at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on 3 February.

The defendant has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and possession of a knife on school premises, but denies murder.

On Friday, the teenager told jurors he did not want to go to school on the morning he killed Harvey because "I thought I was going to get hurt that day".

Giving evidence in his defence for a third day, he told the court he ordered the knife because it was "scary looking", adding: "If I pulled it out, somebody wouldn't try to pull out theirs."

The boy's barrister, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, asked him: "We know you took a knife to school with you that morning, why?"

The defendant replied: "In case anyone tried to pull a knife out on me or try to hurt me."

Mr Hussain said: "Did you want to start any trouble that day?"

The boy said: "No."

He told the court he did not want to hurt anyone on the day.

Mr Hussain read a Snapchat message Harvey sent to the defendant before school that day, which said: "Is it beef I what [sic]", which the boy said he read as meaning: "Is it beef or what?"

Asked if he wanted "beef" - a confrontation - with Harvey, the boy answered "no".

The defendant explained to the jury of eight women and four men how he met Harvey after arriving at school on 3 February and Harvey said to him: "Is it beef between me and you?"

He said he asked Harvey why he thought he had "beef" with him but Harvey just asked him about his injured hand.

The boy said they then started joking about boxing and started sparring in the corridor.

The defendant said Harvey was laughing and he told the jury: "I was thinking it was alright between me and him."

The jury has been shown CCTV footage of Harvey being stabbed in a courtyard at All Saints later that day.

Addressing the jury last week, Mr Hussain said: "(The defendant) did not set out to kill or seriously hurt anyone.

"The defence say (the defendant's) actions that day were the end result of a long period of bullying, poor treatment and violence, things that built one upon another until he lost control and did tragically what we've all seen."

The trial continues.

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