Boy, 15, goes on trial accused of attempted murder over Sheffield street stabbing

'˜Show me what you've got,' a 15-year-old boy said as he put a knife to a Sheffield woman's throat, before stabbing her several times, a court heard.
The scene in Gibbons Drive, Norton after the attack on March 18 this yearThe scene in Gibbons Drive, Norton after the attack on March 18 this year
The scene in Gibbons Drive, Norton after the attack on March 18 this year

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went on trial at Sheffield Crown Court yesterday accused of attempted murder in relation to the attack, which took place in the early hours of March 18 this year.

Opening the case, prosecutor, Andrew Smith, told jurors how the attack took place in Gibbons Drive, Norton after a night of heavy snowfall.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

He said the woman, who is in her 20s, first became aware of the boy’s presence when she felt a hand on her left shoulder, and realised a knife point had been put to her neck.

“A male voice said: ‘Show me what you’ve got’,” said Mr Smith.

He added: “She thought she was being robbed, and offered her purse and mobile phone, and told him to take what he wanted. He repeated the demand: ‘I want to see what you’ve got’.”

Despite the woman offering the boy her possessions again, he continued to say: ‘show me what you’ve got,’ before telling her to follow him around a corner as he pointed the knife at her throat.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Smith said the woman believed she was about to be sexually assaulted, and asked the jury to consider whether the boy may have had a sexual motive for carrying out the attack.

“She walked a short distance behind him, and managed to punch him in the face with her right hand. He punched her to the nose, and she describes hearing a pop and a squelch sound to her left side. It turned out in due course she had been stabbed,” added Mr Smith.

The court heard how after first being stabbed the woman managed to run a short distance away, but the defendant caught up with her, grabbed her by the shoulders and proceeded to stab her a further four times.

"She suffered five stab wounds to her body, with a substantial loss of blood," added Mr Smith.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The woman’s boyfriend arrived on the scene a short time later to find the boy holding the woman by the shoulders as she bled heavily.

"The man shouted to the defendant: 'What have you done to her?" said Mr Smith, adding: "The man raised his fists at the defendant, but the defendant raised his hands and said: 'No mate, she's been stabbed'. The man believed the defendant was not the attacker and had come to help. He asked the defendant to obtain help."

Mr Smith told the court that the boy now accepts he is the ‘sole person responsible’ for the injuries inflicted on the woman; but said the boy’s account of events is that the pair had a ‘chance meeting’ on the street, and after a verbal altercation the woman began punching and hitting him.

The boy said he ran away in panic and it was only after leaving the scene that he realised the knife he kept in his coat pocket had been taken out and was in his hands, the court heard.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Smith said the boy's account was not accepted by the prosecution.

He told jurors: “The prosecution submit that the intention of the boy in this wholly unprovoked attack was to kill her. The Crown ask you to come to that conclusion.”

The boy pleaded guilty to having a bladed article when the charge was put to him at the beginning of the trial.

He denies one charge of attempted murder.

The trial continues.

Related topics: