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Boy, 15, knifed to death at school ‘was stabbed so hard his rib was severed’

Undated handout photo issued by South Yorkshire Police of Harvey Willgoose. The funeral is taking place on Friday for 15-year-old Harvey, who was stabbed to death at his school in Sheffield. Harvey died after he was stabbed at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3. Dozens of family and friends of Harvey are expected to gather at Sheffield Cathedral for the service, which will also be broadcast on a big screen outside the building. Issue date: Friday February 21, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story FUNERAL Sheffield. Photo credit should read: South Yorkshire Police/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
A fellow pupil of Harvey Willgoose, 15, is currently on trial for murdering him (Picture: PA)

A schoolboy accused of murdering a fellow pupil at school stabbed him so hard he severed one of his ribs, a court has heard.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named, allegedly knifed Harvey Willgoose, also 15, twice in front of other pupils at All Saints Catholic School in Sheffield on February 3.

One of the wounds penetrated 8cm into Harvey’s chest, completely severing his fifth rib and nicking the rib below before puncturing his heart, a pathologist told the jury in the trial of the accused today.

Jurors were previously shown CCTV purported to show Harvey putting his hand on the defendant’s arm during an altercation.

The defendant then ‘takes a knife out of his left pocket, passes it across into his right hand, and then stabs twice at Harvey’s torso’, the prosecution said.

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Shortly afterwards Harvey is seen to run towards the defendant, who moves towards him again while ‘bouncing on his toes, still brandishing the knife’, jurors were told.

Police and crime scene investigators at All Saints Catholic High School in the aftermath of the stabbing (Picture: Getty)

The defendant then strode into the school’s dining hall while pupils ‘fled in fear and panic’.

Home Office pathologist Dr Philip Lumb said police showed him a 13cm long knife before he conducted a post-mortem examination on Harvey.

He said he agreed that this weapon was capable of causing the fatal injury and that it showed ‘severe force’ was used.

Dr Lumb said: ‘In this case, we have the full thickness of the bone of a rib being cut through.

A tribute to Harvey Willgoose is seen prior to his funeral on February 21 (Picture: Getty)

‘Bone is a very hard substance. It’s very difficult to cut, even when using a sharp knife.

‘And that is a marker of the use of severe force.’

The teenager has admitted manslaughter and possessing a knife on school premises, but denies murder.

Yesterday the court heard he told the school’s headteacher: ‘I’m not right in the head. My mum doesn’t look after me right. I’ve stabbed him.’

He is said to have claimed he was carrying the knife ‘for protection’.

The trial continues.

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