A teenager accused of murdering a fellow pupil in school has told a jury he was so badly bullied he developed anger issues ‘I can’t control’.
The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stabbed Harvey Willgoose, also 15, in the schoolyard at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3.
He has pleaded guilty to Harvey’s manslaughter by reason of loss of control, but is facing trial at Sheffield Crown Court accused of murder.
Giving evidence today, the boy told the jury that he was bullied over a medical issue at both primary school and secondary school, as well as experiencing racial abuse.
When he was at secondary school, the boy said he was once beaten up so badly by another pupil that he had to go to hospital to receive treatment for an eye injury.
He claimed that the bullying left him struggling to sleep and dreading going to school.
Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, representing the boy, asked him: ‘You have told members of the jury about the bullying that’s taking place at school – how do you think it has affected you?’
The boy replied: ‘It makes me not confident, I’m upset all the time.’
He told the court that it also affected his ability to control his anger, saying: ‘I can get angry quickly, I get upset quickly – I can’t control it.’
Harvey Willgoose, 15, died after being stabbed in the heart with a five-inch hunting knife during the school lunchbreak
Harvey was killed by another pupil at All Saints Catholic High School, Sheffield, who is now standing trial accused of his murder
Harvey’s mother, Caroline, has attended most days of the trial of her son’s killer at Sheffield Crown Court
The defendant described how the bullying had moved to social media after he began attending All Saints Catholic High School – where he was targeted by both other pupils and strangers.
‘Let’s say if I had an argument with someone at school, they would get their brother or cousin to message me and threaten me,’ he said.
Asked what the worst threat he received was, the boy replied: ‘The worst threat I got was someone saying to me “I will stab you up”.’
Mr Hussain asked: ‘Did a time come when you started to believe these threats?’
‘Yeah,’ the boy replied.
Mr Hussain said: ‘How did that make you feel?’
‘Scared,’ the boy responded.
The boy accused of murdering Harvey has pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of loss of control – claiming his actions were the end product of a long history of bullying
The trial has heard that All Saints Catholic High School was put into lockdown a week before the fatal attack after the defendant claimed he had seen another pupil with a knife
The boy also became emotional as he told the jury that his father would occasionally beat him at home. He described how he would be slapped ‘quite hard’ across the face if he was suspended from school, or sometimes if he had just assumed he had done something wrong.
The defendant took a break of several minutes in the dock to compose himself as he was asked questions on the subject.
The jury previously heard that Harvey and the accused became embroiled in a social media dispute on the weekend before the attack, relating to a row between pupils including the defendant on January 29.
On that occasion, he insisted he saw another boy in possession of a knife and the school was put into lockdown. The police were called but no blade was found.
The defendant was said to be ‘scared of going to school’ because of the lockdown. Harvey was not in school that day, but had expressed support on social media for a pupil with whom the defendant had a disagreement.
The trial was previously shown shocking CCTV of the fatal attack on Harvey, which saw the two boys squaring up over the school lunchbreak, before the defendant produced a knife and lunged at him, twice. Harvey collapsed 49 seconds later.
The defendant has admitted manslaughter and possession of a knife on school premises, but he denies murder.
Harvey was a passionate Sheffield United fan and his funeral attracted hundreds of mourners in Sheffield earlier this year
There was an outpouring of grief over the schoolboy’s death, including floral tributes left piled high outside Bramall Lane football stadium
Mr Hussain previously indicated to the jury that the defendant suffered a loss of control due to his history of being bullied, saying: ‘[The defendant] accepts what he did that day.
‘That is why he’s pleaded guilty to manslaughter. [He] did not set out to kill or seriously hurt anyone.
‘The defence say [his] 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 trial continues.
