Teen killer claims racist bullying led to him stabbing fellow pupil to death

A 15-year-old boy who fatally stabbed a fellow pupil through the heart at school has said being bullied meant he got angry quickly and admitted: "I can't control it". The teen killer took to the witness box to deny that he murdered Harvey Willgoose, also 15, when an online spat exploded in violence at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield in February.

The boy says it was manslaughter which came after he was subjected to racist bullying on social media and taunts about a medical condition while he was at a number of Sheffield schools. The defendant said the bullying has affected how he controls his temper, revealing: "I'm upset all the time". Asked by his barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC how this affected his temper, the boy said: "I can get angry quickly, upset quickly. "I can't control it."

Mr Hussain also asked his client about social media.

The boy said he had been bullied online by "strangers" and by pupils at All Saints, including "racist bullying".

The barrister asked him: "When bullying was happening on social media, did you feel you could get away from it?"

The boy replied: "No".

When Mr Hussain asked him about the worst threat he had received on social media, the defendant replied: "Someone said, 'I'll stab you up'."

He added that he began to believe the threats and, when his barrister asked "how did that make you feel?", the boy admitted he was "scared."

The defendant stood in the witness box facing the jury of eight women and four men, holding a fidget toy and supported by an intermediary.

The jury has been shown CCTV footage of Harvey being stabbed in the courtyard at All Saints during the lunch break on February 3.

The court has heard that the defendant, who cannot be named, has admitted manslaughter but denies murder.

He has also admitted possession of a knife on school premises.

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 jury previously heard how the boy told police he was "horrified at the outcome" after being told Harvey had died, adding: "All I did was protect myself."

The defendant made no comment to questions asked by detectives but supplied a written statement in an interview the day after Harvey died in which he said he took the knife into All Saints Catholic High School for his own protection.

Describing the incident during the school lunch break on February 3, the boy said in his statement: "Harvey came up to me. He said "Do you want beef, I'll have you this time". I tried to shake his hand. He refused to shake it.

"At that point I felt like he was going to attack me. Obviously, all these threats had been made to me previously and at that moment I thought he was going to use a weapon or knife against me."

The defendant added: "Without thinking and instinctively I pulled out the knife I had in my pocket and thrust it towards Harvey. I did this in self-defence. It was not my intention to cause him serious harm.

"At that moment I felt it was me or him, I had to protect myself."

The boy continued: "I am horrified at the outcome. Never did I think anybody would lose their life.

"I can't imagine what Harvey's family are going through. All I did was protect myself."

Earlier in the statement, the defendant explained that he brought the knife into school "for my protection".

He described a previous incident after which he said he had been threatened, including by Harvey, and feared he would be "jumped" after school.

The boy also said he heard that Harvey "carries knives".

The defendant said he had been off school following one incident in school five days before, which led to a lockdown, but did not involve Harvey.

He said he returned to school on the February 3, saying in his statement: "I reluctantly returned but I accept I took a knife with me for protection and nothing more.

"I had no intention to use it or any plan to cause serious harm."

Jurors have also been shown body-worn camera footage from a police officer who went to the defendant's house a month before the fatal attack, after his mother found an axe in his sports bag and contacted the school.

During the conversation the defendant denied it was his axe, and said he did not know how it got into his bag, while his mother said she "wanted a full investigation".

He also denied he was in fear for his life when asked by the officer, who told him: "Carrying weapons to protect yourself is the most stupid thing you can do, because you are almost guaranteed to be seriously hurt or killed if you carry a weapon."

The trial continues.