Harvey Willgoose, 15, threatened to 'stab up' and 'batter' boy accused of murdering him, jury told
15-year-old Harvey Willgoose threatened to ‘stab up’ and ‘batter’ the teenager accused of his murder, after the pair accidentally bumped into each other, a jury has been told today.
Harvey was stabbed in the heart in the courtyard of All Saints School a few minutes into the lunch break on February 3, 2025. He collapsed less than a minute later, and died a short time after that.
A teenage boy, who was at school with Harvey, has been on trial at Sheffield Crown Court for the last three weeks accused of Harvey’s murder, which he denies.
The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has admitted to carrying out the stabbing, to Harvey’s manslaughter and to possessing a bladed article on school premises.
He told jurors today (July 18, 2025) that a weekend of exchanging Snapchat messages with Harvey and others had caused him to fear he may be ‘jumped’ or ‘stabbed’ during the school day.
Then, on the morning of the fatal incident, he said he and Harvey talked about having ‘beef’ with each other in Snapchat messages sent in the hours before the school day began.
The defendant - who cannot be named for legal reasons - said he had not wanted to go to school out of fear he would be ‘badly’ hurt, but after his dad told him he had to go, he looked up a prayer online in a bid to keep himself safe.
He encountered Harvey early on in the day, but despite their earlier exchanges, the defendant said he initially believed they had managed to get on to ‘alright’ terms with each other after joking around about boxing.
The pair ended that interaction by ‘shaking hands,’ the jury were told.
In his evidence this afternoon, the defendant said things between the pair changed again after they ‘accidentally bumped into each other’ during break time.
He told jurors that Harvey responded by turning around and saying ‘Watch where you’re f***ing going’ in a manner he described as 'angry'.
The defendant says he subsequently tapped Harvey on the arm, and had planned to say 'just leave it'.
He says that before he got the chance to say that, Harvey said: "Don’t touch me, I’ll actually juck you up."
When asked what ‘juck’ means, the defendant clarified: "In Sheffield, juck means stab you up."
"Did you think Harvey would say something like that to you after you shook hands?" his barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC asked.
"No," said the defendant, adding that Harvey subsequently left with a friend.
The defendant said he encountered Harvey again, a little later on in the day.
Harvey, he said, was next to some other pupils, and whispered something to them, causing all three to 'laugh’ at him.
The defendant says Harvey then bumped into him intentionally, knocking him with his shoulder.
"I said ‘what are you bumping into me for?’," recalled the defendant.
The defendant said Harvey responded by saying: “I’ll smash you all over” - which he took to mean 'beat him up'.
Harvey was walking towards him, as he was walking backwards.
He claims Harvey went on to say: "I'll batter you...let's take it outside."
Mr Hussain asked him how Harvey said it, to which the defendant replied: "Angrily."
The defendant said he told Harvey: "Hit me then."
He added that he did not actually want Harvey to hit him.
"Why did you say ‘hit me’ then?" asked Mr Hussain.
The defendant replied: "Because if he hits me first, I’ve got a reason to hit him back."
Jurors have heard how a lockdown incident took place at the school five days before Harvey’s death, following which, Harvey took the side of one boy - Boy A, while the defendant took the side of another, Boy B.
Boy A and Boy B, neither of whom can be named for legal reasons, were involved in a scuffle during the course of the incident, and the school was sent into lockdown after the defendant said he saw Boy A with a knife.
Both Boy A and the defendant were searched whilst still on school premises, and neither one was found to be in possession of weapons.
Harvey did not attend school on the day of the lockdown incident, and the defendant says he felt too ‘scared’ to come to school on the two weekdays that followed it.
In the messages subsequently exchanged between the defendant and Harvey, the defendant said Harvey told him that if he had a problem with Boy A, and his associates, he should come to his address and he would ‘sort it, simple’.
He also said Harvey had sent him a voice note in which he said two other males with violent reputations needed to ‘hear about’ the dispute, and told him: ‘You know my boys are on it’.
The defendant said he brought a ‘scary’ knife to school on the day of the killing because the messages he received caused him to fear he would be ‘jumped’ or ‘stabbed’.
He said he believed if he pulled out his ‘scary’ knife, his would-be attackers ‘wouldn’t pull theirs’.
Earlier on in his evidence - which began on Wednesday (July 16) - the defendant said he posed with knives, a hammer and an axe in pictures taken in December 2024 and January 2025 in order to ‘scare’ people who might have otherwise caused him problems or threatened him.
He also told jurors that following significant difficulties in his home life, and years of being bullied over a medical issue and his appearance, he developed anger issues that he has been unable to ‘control’.
The jury has now been sent home for the weekend, and the trial is set to resume on Monday morning (July 21), when the defendant will begin his fourth day of questions posed by Mr Hussain. Prosecutors will then be given the opportunity to cross-examine the defendant.
The defendant denies murdering Harvey.
The trial continues.