Harvey Willgoose trial: School murder accused describes years of bullying & says he gets 'angry quickly'
A teenage boy accused of murdering a fellow pupil in a school stabbing has told jurors that years of bullying has led him to get angry and upset ‘quickly,’ adding ‘he can’t control it’.
15-year-old Harvey Willgoose 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 attended th same school as 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.
The defendant took to the witness box this morning (Wednesday, July 16, 2025) on the first day of the defence case.
He described the bullying he experienced, both as a primary school pupil, and when he moved on to secondary school. The defendant confirmed the bullying continued when he became a pupil at All Saints.
The defendant said the bullying he experienced, throughout his time at school, was borne out of things such as his clothes, a medical issue and his appearance.
Gul Nawaz Hussain KC asked the defendant if the bullying has affected ‘how he can control his temper’.
“I can get angry quickly, upset quickly, can’t control [it],” said the defendant.
The defendant also detailed issues with his home life to the jury.
Mr Hussain asked the defendant if he had ever gone to his parents for help with the bullying.
He replied by saying he had not approached either his mother or father because he knew they ‘wouldn’t care’.
“Last week we heard from teachers from All Saints that told us you had said you had a problem with your anger...why do you think you had that problem,” asked Mr Hussain.
The defendant replied: “Because I can’t control my anger sometimes.”
Continued Mr Hussain: “Where do you think all this anger comes from?
“Home,” replied the defendant.
“Has the bullying affected your anger,” continued Mr Hussain, to which the defendant replied: “Yeah.”
“Has it made it better or worse,” he asked.
“Worse,” replied the defendant.
The defendant said the bullying also made him feel ‘not confident and stuff’.
He continued by saying the bullying would also continue on social media, which he admitted to using frequently, before and after school, and over weekends.
“If I had an argument with someone at school, they would get their brother, cousin to message and threaten me,” the defendant said.
He added: “The worst threat I got was ‘I’ll stab you up’.” The defendants told the jury that such threats made him feel scared.
“When the bullying was happening on social media, did you feel you could get away from it,” asked Mr Hussain, to which the defendant replied: “No.”
The defendant also said the bullying would affect his sleep.
“You told us the bullying affected your sleep. If the bullying got bad what would happen to your sleep,” asked Mr Hussain.
“Sleep late,” replied the defendant.
The defendant said he was aware he could report bullying to teachers, but that would sometimes result in fellow pupils asking ‘why are you snitching’.
“If you are a snitch at school, do people want to hang out with you,” asked Mr Hussain, to which, the defendant replied: “No.”
The defendant also said he would sometimes become involved in fighting because the consequences of not doing so would result in people thinking he was a 'p***y' which would make bullying worse.
The defendant has not yet been asked about his relationship with Harvey.
The trial has now been stood down for the lunchtime break. The defendant’s evidence is expected to continue throughout today.
The trial continues.