The boy was among a group of seven who went out to camp in a field on Halloween last year – where he stabbed the girl ten times, leaving her with injuries she was ‘fortunate to survive’
A 15-year-old boy has been found guilty of attemping to murder a girl – who was stabbed ten times with a sword during a Halloween camping trip.
The teenager was among a group of seven who went to camp in a field off the A63 on October 31 last year. The girl, now aged 14, was described by a witness as fortunate to survive her injuries. A jury at Hull Crown Court today returned a unanimous verdict of guilty to the charge of attempted murder.
The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared in the dock to hear his verdict read out. Judge John Thackray KC adjourned the 15-year-old’s sentencing hearing to April 4. He told the teenager he needed more information on him and the level of danger he posed to the public after the completion of his sentence.
The judge added that he wanted to read a psychological report and a pre-sentence report from the probation service. Judge Thackray KC also urged the defendant to cooperate with the Youth Justice Team in the preparation of reports.
Earlier in the case, prosecutor David Lamb KC told how the teenager attacked the girl with a Kortada sword similar in shape and size to a Samurai sword. “With that fearsome item, this defendant inflicted ten stab wounds to her chest, back, neck and arms,” said Mr Lamb. “As a result of those injuries, that young girl came very close to losing her life.”
The girl was said to have known the teenager for a couple of months. After stabbing her multiple times, he left her alone, frightened and heavily bleeding in a secluded and dark wooded area by the A63 and the Humber Bridge next to Clive Sullivan Way, the court was told.
Mr Lamb said that the boy admitted that he was responsible for stabbing the girl. The teenager claimed that a 15-year-old girl, now 16, gave him £20 to stab the girl. She and the victim had been arguing all evening, he claimed. Mr Lamb claimed this was the motive for the attack.
When the boy made the claims regarding the money and argument, they it was the first time he had given that reason for the attack – which was a different account to the one he first gave when interviewed by police. Mr Lamb said: “He accepts that it was him and only him who attacked her. He accepts that he stabbd her with the sword.
“He accepts that, in doing so, he inflicted those injuries. He accepts that he was not acting in self-defence. He accepts that, when he attacked her with the sword, he intended to cause her really serious harm.”
The jury heard the teen boy was trying to impress another girl in an effort to “get closer to her” because he “fancied” the older girl. They were also told she had taken a sword, which belonged to her father, because she was going to sell it and that she told the boy to “go hurt her”.
When the victim walked away from the group, the teen followed her. He caught up to her where he then pinned her to the ground, stabbing her repeatedy, the cour heard. They were told she pleaded with him: “Please, don’t do this. Go away.”
“I’m sorry but I have to do this,” jurors heard the boy said. After being stabbed and suffering potentially fatal wounds, the victim scrambled from the woods and toward the nearby A63 where she waved down passing motorists who raised the alarm in the early hours of the morning.
The girl was rushed to Hull Royal Infirmary and later transferred to hospital in Leeds. The defendant was remanded in custody until the sentencing hearing, which is due to take place next month.