Passengers fought a knifeman who boarded a London-bound train and stabbed multiple people, with one asking a victim "do you want to die?", a court has heard. Jurors at Cambridge Crown Court were played a CCTV clip of passenger Stephen Crean trying to wrestle a knife from Anthony Williams on the LNER train on November 1 last year.
Prosecution outlines alleged attack
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told the court Mr Crean will say that the defendant asked him "do you want to die?" "We say, clear evidence of the defendant's intention to kill, was the use of the knife to stab so many, and use to stab and cut Mr Crean in his hand, head and lower back," Mr Paxton said.
Williams, 33, is accused of attempting to murder 10 passengers and one staff member on an LNER service in a five-minute attack when it was forced to make an emergency stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on November 1, 2025. He is also accused of trying to kill three people in Peterborough the day prior and a teenager at a London railway station.
Passengers' bravery described
Williams, who appeared at court via videolink, accepts that he carried out the train attack but denies all 14 counts of attempted murder. Judge Mr Justice Calver told jurors they must decide whether he intended to kill the people he stabbed, as the prosecution claims.
Describing alleged events on the train, Mr Paxton told the jury: "The defendant brought terror which resulted in them fleeing and some fighting for their lives. In the face of that threat and the defendant's sheer brutality some stood tall to protect others trying to de-escalate his rampage, defending themselves and putting themselves in harm's way to protect strangers."
Some fled "in sheer terror", locking themselves in toilets, while others tried to de-escalate the attack, the court heard. One of the victims, 73-year-old David Presland, was attacked after he fell to the ground, the court was told.
Mr Paxton said passengers "ran for their lives," with some "hiding away in locked toilets, store cabinets, or under seats until many fleeing the defendant literally ran out of train." He added: "They could go no further; they were trapped on the moving train."
Other alleged incidents
Some showed "extraordinary bravery" in trying to fend Williams off, grabbing frying pans or toasters to protect themselves, and asking Williams why he was doing what he was doing, he said. Scott Green, who had his dog Poppy with him, tried to grab the knife blade from Williams, who continued to stab him as he sat in his seat.
Another passenger, Kevin Deely, suffered stab wounds to his scalp and midriff, penetrating his stomach by more than 9cm. Member of train crew Samir Zitouni tried to use a frying pan to stop Williams, but was stabbed multiple times, the court was told.
Mr Paxton said: "The defendant, Mr Williams, armed with a knife, caused terror and fear on an unimaginable scale, moving up and down a busy train, from which there was no escape, stabbing several people as he did so."
The court heard that a 14-year-old boy was among three people stabbed in Peterborough on the evening of October 31, before Williams allegedly stabbed a 17-year-old at Pontoon Dock DLR station in London in the early hours of the following day. The 14-year-old was stabbed when he walked past a man alleged to be Williams on a footbridge near Henry Penn Walk, Peterborough.
Williams then lunged with his knife at Dawid Taborski before attempting to stab William Ogelby four times in the chest in the Rail World car park, jurors heard. Williams asked them "are you involved?" before producing a large or zombie knife, jurors were told. All three victims fled in fear, Mr Paxton told the court, because "they knew that their lives were at peril".
Once back in London, Williams approached a 17-year-old boy, Isaiah Idris, on the DLR at Pontoon Dock and knifed him in the face and hand, the court was told.
