A man charged with a series of violent knife attacks, including a mass stabbing on a mainline train, has refused to attend his court hearing, with a trial now scheduled for next year.
Charges Span Multiple Locations and Dates
Anthony Williams, 32, faces a string of serious charges relating to incidents in late October and early November. The most serious allegation is the attempted murder of ten people aboard an LNER service from Doncaster to London on 1 November. This attack resulted in eleven individuals requiring hospital treatment.
The violence reportedly began shortly after the train departed Peterborough. Passengers activated emergency alarms, prompting the driver, former Royal Navy serviceman Andrew Johnson, to request an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon station.
Williams is also accused of the attempted murder of a 17-year-old on a Docklands Light Railway train at Pontoon Dock in east London. Furthermore, he faces charges for two separate incidents in Peterborough on 31 October: the attempted murder of a 14-year-old boy on a footbridge above Henry Penn Walk and the attempted murder of 22-year-old William Ogelby at the Rail World car park.
A Catalogue of Alleged Violence
The full list of those Williams is charged with attempting to murder on the LNER train includes: Scott Bletcher; Michael Paffett; Kevin Deely; Jonathan Gjoshe; David Presland; Sachin Balakrishnan; Stephen Crean; Samir Zitouni; Rasza Aslam and Scott Green.
Train crew member Samir Zitouni was left in a critical condition with multiple injuries and has been credited with helping save lives during the incident.
Additional charges from 31 October include the attempted wounding of 28-year-old Dawid Taborski on the same Peterborough footbridge, an affray at Ritzy’s Barbers in Queens Walk, and the theft of a "four-pack of kitchen knives to the value of £15" from an Asda in Stevenage. He is also charged with assaulting Jordan Morley on a King’s Cross to Peterborough train on 1 November and multiple counts of possessing a bladed article in public places in Peterborough.
Legal Proceedings and Internal Review
Williams did not appear at Monday's hearing at Cambridge Crown Court. A provisional trial date has been set for 22 June 2026. The defendant was remanded into custody following his arrest in Huntingdon.
In the wake of these events, Cambridgeshire Police has commissioned an internal review of circumstances prior to the mass stabbing on the LNER train. This move indicates an examination of potential interactions or intelligence that may have preceded the major incident.
