A 16-year-old boy has been found guilty of attempted murder after stabbing a 15-year-old girl in the back with a kitchen knife at his school. The conviction was delivered on Wednesday following a trial at King's Lynn Crown Court.
The incident took place on Wednesday, 11 March, at Thorpe St Andrew High School, near Norwich, when the girl was attacked with a carving knife in the school's bathrooms. Officers were dispatched to the scene, and the school was locked down, with pupils hiding beneath desks. Both the school and the adjacent Laundry Lane were sealed off during the police investigation.
Prosecution Details of the Attack
Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told the court that the boy, aged 15 at the time, had an "obsessive and dangerous interest in killers and killing" and had written a note expressing his "hatred for women". Mr Paxton said the defendant attended Thorpe St Andrew School "not to learn but to kill, taking with him a kitchen knife which he used to stab" the girl "in the back".
The prosecutor described the boy as "dressed in black, masked up and tooled up with a kitchen knife". The victim was taken to hospital for treatment and later discharged. The suspect is believed to have scaled the school fence at the south site entrance on Laundry Lane following the assault.
Note Reveals Motive
Mr Paxton noted it was "sheer good fortune" the victim had not suffered more serious injuries. The boy, who had already pleaded guilty to wounding with intent and possession of a knife at a school, offered no evidence in his defence. He had denied attempted murder, but the jury convicted him after three hours and 54 minutes of deliberations.
The prosecutor revealed that a note penned before the attack read: "I really want to do it, really bad, I hate having to wait, I hate it, but I have to wait. I've already got a good idea, tomorrow or Thursday or next week. That's it. I want at least two, maybe three, I would be very proud of five." The note continued: "Motive = misanthropy, misogyny, suicide, bullying. Weapon = knife x2? Death = 2+ hopefully, injuries a lot hopefully."
Victim's Testimony
A second note, pinned in the boy's bedroom, read: "My barren world... Hello to all readers out there in the UK and perhaps even the world. If you're reading this, I am either dead or in custody. I imagine the police will be the first to read this and seize it as evidence, so I will make something very clear. I made this decision to do so on my own. Nobody told me to. Just me. Nobody knew I wanted to do this. Not a single soul."
Giving evidence, the victim recalled that it "felt like he touched me on the shoulder, then it felt like he punched me", adding she "didn't know I was stabbed at this point". She described struggling to open a door, saying she was "struggling because everything was going numb and feeling weak".
The boy has been remanded in custody ahead of sentencing.
