A 15-year-old boy has told a jury he was ‘out of control in [himself]’ when he stabbed a fellow pupil to death during their lunch break.
The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, said he felt regret and ‘sorry’ for Harvey Willgoose’s family after killing him in the courtyard at All Saints Catholic High School in the city on February 3.
Giving evidence for a fourth day, the teenager said he had not wanted any trouble with Harvey that day and did not want to fight him.
After watching CCTV of the fatal blow, the boy said Harvey looked ‘angry, as if he was going to do something’ when they squared up.
He told his barrister Gul Hawaz Hussain KC that Harvey had one hand out and ‘one hand a bit in his trousers’ which made him think the schoolboy had a knife.
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The boy, who had taken a knife with him to school that day, described feeling 10/10 on a scale of being scared when Harvey put a hand on his shoulder while bringing up a previous falling out between them.
He said he offered to shake hands with his victim, adding: ‘If I said sorry and he shook my hand, I don’t think anything would have happened.’
The defendant said Harvey angrily replied: ‘No, f*** off.’
Mr Hussain asked: ‘When Harvey grabbed your shoulder, did he say anything?’
The boy said Harvey told him: ‘I will do you in and do you in proper this time.’
He told the court: ‘I thought I would have got stabbed by Harvey.’
The boy said he then pulled out his knife, telling the jury: ‘I was out of control in myself.’
The defendant, who admits manslaughter but denies murder, said he could not remember stabbing Harvey.
Asked how he felt when he realised he had stabbed the other boy, the defendant said: ‘It made me feel upset, scared and shocked.’
He described feeling ‘bad and regret’ knowing Harvey had died because of what he did and said of the schoolboy’s family: ‘I feel sorry.’
Richard Thyne KC, prosecuting, asked the boy what he had meant to do when he stabbed Harvey.
The defendant said: ‘I was not thinking, I was not in control of myself, so I didn’t really think of anything.’
The trial continues today.
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