Harvey Willgoose trial: School murder accused denies trying to provoke stabbing victim 'to let out his anger'

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 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.

Prosecutor Richard Thyne KC asked the defendant questions, under cross-examination, concerning the topics he was found to have searched for online, as part of evidence taken from his mobile phone.

The defendant agreed he had searched for topics around the subject of anger, including one which read: “Waiting for someone to swing so I can let out my anger”.

Mr Thyne asked the defendant: “Is that what happened on the 3rd of February?”

“No that’s a TikTok trend,” the defendant said, and agreed he had searched for that term.

Continued Mr Thyne: “On the 3rd of February were you waiting for Harvey to swing so you could let out your anger? Had you tried to provoke him?”

The defendant replied ‘no’ to both questions.

“Had you tried to wind him up earlier in the day,” Mr Thyne asked.

The defendant replied: “No it was the other way around.”

Mr Thyne said: “Were you trying to get Harvey to do something to you so you could let out your anger?”

“No,” answered the defendant.

Sign up to our new court newsletter, where we seek to ensure that justice is not just done but seen to be done. Register today and receive our rundown of the key stories from the courts over the past seven days.

During evidence heard this morning (Wednesday, July 23), the defendant also denied being ‘someone who tells lies’.

“Are you someone who tells lies,” asked Mr Thyne.

The defendant replied: “No.”

“What about the doctors,” said Mr Thyne, referring to the defendant telling a psychiatrist and a psychologist that the day of the fatal stabbing was the first time he had brought a knife on to school grounds.

The jury have previously been shown an of the defendant pictured with a knife in a wooded area of the school in September 2024.

The defendant replied: “Well, I was dishonest.”

In December 2024, the defendant’s mother contacted All Saints School after she found an axe in the defendant’s bag; and the school subsequently informed police.

Earlier in his evidence, the defendant admitted that he ‘lied’ when he told a police officer that he ‘didn’t have a clue’ when asked where the axe had come from.

He said he bought the axe from another All Saints pupil, who had agreed to sell him a knife, but wound up buying the axe, when the other boy brought that to school instead. The defendant said he wanted to arm himself for his own protection.

“What about the lie to the police officer,” continued Mr Thyne.

“The only reason I lied to him was because my mum was there, if she wasn’t there I would have told him the truth,” replied the defendant.

The defendant’s fifth day of evidence from the witness box is set to continue this afternoon (Wednesday, July 23, 2025).

He denies murdering Harvey.

The trial continues.