Harvey Willgoose trial: Teacher tells of moment he ran to fatal Sheffield school stabbing

Harvey Willgoose was stabbed in the heart with a hunting knife, causing fatal injuries, in an incident carried out at a courtyard at All Saints School in Sheffield, during the lunchtime break on February 3, 2025.

15-year-old Harvey collapsed around a minute after being stabbed, and died a short time later.

A teenage boy admits carrying out the stabbing and has pleaded guilty to his manslaughter, along with an offence of possessing a bladed article on a school premises. The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder, however.

His trial began at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, July 1, 2025).

Harvey was in ‘good spirits’ and talked about attending school more hours before he died

Thomas D’Angeli who works in welfare, safeguarding and pastoral care, and currently holds the position of Year 7 leader, at All Saints School gave live evidence to the jury of eight women and four men this afternoon.

The jury has previously heard how Harvey’s attendance at school had been poor in the run up to his death. The teen sent a message to his dad just four days before he died, which read: “Am not going in that school while people have knives.”

Mr D’Angeli was Harvey’s year leader during the previous academic year, and told jurors how Harvey came to see him on the morning before he died and appeared to be ‘in good spirits’.

Harvey told him he wanted to explain that he was in school, and that ‘he would be attending school,’ said Mr D’Angeli.

He continued: “He spoke to me about his new coat he’d bought.”

Just a few hours later, Mr D’Angeli described ‘sprinting’ to the scene of Harvey’s stabbing, after hearing a staff member say ‘knife, knife’ in an emergency communication over a school radio system.

“There was a lot of screaming and running away by students that I passed,” Mr D’Angeli said, when asked to describe the ‘mood’ in the school at that time.

As he was making his way there, Mr D’Angeli passed the defendant on the stairs, being led away by deputy headteacher Morgan Davis who was ‘holding a knife’.

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Defendant appeared ‘angry’ and ‘aggressive’ in the moments following stabbing, jury told

Prosecutor Richard Thyne KC asked him if the defendant appeared ‘angry’ and ‘aggressive’ at that stage.

“Yes,” replied Mr D’Angeli, before adding that he believed the defendant appeared ‘dysregulated’.

Mr Thyne asked Mr D’Angeli if he recalled hearing the defendant tell Mr Davis: “I told you, I knew it, I lost it.”

“Yes,” replied Mr D’Angeli.

Elaborating on what he meant by ‘dysregulated,’ Mr D’Angeli continued: “It was clear he was angry, upset, aggressive - but he was complying.”

Following the encounter, Mr D’Angeli said he headed over to the courtyard where the stabbing took place.

Mr D’Angeli appeared emotional as he confirmed he was among those who attempted to assist Harvey, after arriving in the courtyard.

He dialled 999 at around 12.17pm, the court heard.

Representing the defendant, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, asked Mr D’Angeli: “You used the term dysregulated, would that include not like himself?”

Mr D’Angeli replied: “Yes.”

Continued Mr Hussain: “In the way you would use the expression, would you mean not in control of himself?”

The question was subsequently rephrased by the judge, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen, who said: “Can you explain what you meant using your skills and expertise?”

Replied Mr D’Angeli: “Shouting, threatening, it’s clear they’re not calm.”

Incident involving defendant which resulted in a school lockdown

Mr D’Angeli was also called to an incident involving the defendant and two other students - Boy A and Boy B - five days earlier on January 29, 2025, following which the school was sent into lockdown.

He said the defendant could be heard ‘shouting above everyone else’ when he arrived on the scene.

Referring to Boy A, the defendant is alleged to have shouted: “He thinks he’s f***ing hard, I’ll bang him out” before claiming Boy A had a knife in his pocket. Mr D’Angeli was the one to physically remove the defendant from the incident.

Mr D’Angeli told jurors: “I placed both hands around [the defendant] and sort of tried to restrain him as best I can.”

Asked Mr Thyne: “How would you describe his behaviour at that point,” to which Mr D’Angeli responded: “Very angry, very aggressive.”

“How much force did you need to use to remove him from the area,” asked Mr Thyne.

Mr D’Angeli responded: “A lot.”

The court heard how Boy A and the defendant are alleged to have been involved in another incident on January 16, 2025.

Mr D’Angeli said the defendant told him Boy A had used a ‘racial slur’ towards him on that occasion; and subsequently threatened to ‘bang him’.

He agreed, when asked by Mr Hussain, that the defendant struggled to calm down while Boy A remained in the room where the January 16 incident occurred.

The trial, which is expected to last for around four weeks, continues.