A 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing a teacher at a Welsh school intentionally targeted a young, female staff member, a court has heard.
Alleged Attack in Classroom
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to attempting to murder Vicki Williams at Milford Haven Comprehensive School in February. The boy, then 15, is accused of stabbing Mrs Williams in the head with a kitchen knife after asking her to review his work.
On Friday, Swansea Crown Court heard that Mrs Williams was a "lone female teacher" and an "easy target" when the boy allegedly launched his attack. Christopher Rees KC, prosecuting, said in his closing remarks: "He knows the truth about what he did, he just doesn't have, I'm afraid, the courage or the remorse to tell anyone about it."
Prosecution's Case
Mr Rees stated: "He brought the knife into school because he planned to attack the teacher. Why Vicki Williams? Well, she was, at quarter past three, a lone female teacher, she was an easy target. He's not attacked a male teacher, has he? He's attacked one of the young, female teachers, alone in her classroom."
The court previously heard that the boy approached her desk on the afternoon of February 5 to ask her to review his work. When he closed the classroom door, claiming it was cold, "alarm bells" started ringing in her mind. The student then drew a large kitchen knife from his bag and allegedly struck her in the head. A "violent struggle" ensued, during which Mrs Williams tried to wrestle the knife away before the boy fled the school.
CCTV and Aftermath
CCTV footage showed the teenager leaving the building and going to his grandmother's house, where he told her: "Something went in my head, nan." Mr Rees said: "The closest we will ever get to why he did this, because he'll never say, is: 'Something went in my head'. It is only because he struck the back of her skull, and she fought back, that she is here to tell you."
Mrs Williams was taken to hospital in Haverfordwest, where doctors found a wound on her scalp, scratches on her back, and minor cuts on her hands.
Defense's Argument
Earlier in the trial, the boy told the court that Mrs Williams had spotted him with the knife and "tried to grab it", during which he "accidentally assaulted her". Matthew Roberts KC, defending, argued: "If he was truly minded, as the prosecution say, to kill Vicki Williams, he could easily have done so. He is much stronger than Vicki, who would have not been able to, we suggest, fight him off at all."
Mr Roberts proposed the pupil had brought the kitchen knife to school to "show off" to other boys. He stated: "There was no recorded history of conflict between the student and Vicki Williams. There is no evidence of any animosity or any ill feeling between them at all. He, we say, had no reason whatsoever to want to hurt Vicki Williams."
The boy denies charges of attempted murder, unlawful wounding, and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The trial continues.
