A teacher has told a court she relives the moment she thought she would die every day after a student allegedly stabbed her in the head. Vicki Williams was teaching at Milford Haven Comprehensive School in Wales on February 5 when the boy, then 15, allegedly produced a knife from his bag.
The defendant, now 16, has pleaded not guilty to charges including attempted murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Swansea Crown Court heard this week that the suspect is accused of stabbing his history teacher in the head.
Mrs Williams testified that she sought medical help immediately after the incident, believing she was dying. The court heard the student approached her desk to have his work reviewed before closing the classroom door, stating it was cold. Mrs Williams described this as a moment when "alarm bells" began to ring.
The prosecution alleges the student then retrieved a large kitchen knife from his bag and struck Mrs Williams in the head. The court previously heard that a "violent struggle" ensued as Mrs Williams attempted to disarm the student before he fled the school.
During the trial, the defense suggested that Mrs Williams' injuries were sustained during a scuffle when she tried to confiscate the knife. The defense lawyer presented a version of events where the teacher asked the student what was in his bag, and when he did not reply, she instructed him to remove it. The defense further alleged that Mrs Williams attempted to grab the blade with both hands, resulting in accidental injury during a struggle.
Mrs Williams refuted this account, stating, "Absolutely not." She explained that her immediate thought upon realizing she had been stabbed was that she was dying, which prompted her to seek help rather than locking herself in the classroom. "My first thought was 'I'm dying'," she told the court.
She agreed that the student had initially been polite and respectful upon entering the room, adding that the situation escalated only "Not until the knife came out of the bag." Mrs Williams maintained that her memory of the fast-moving encounter was accurate, stating, "This is something I have to relive every day."
Previously, the prosecutor stated that the boy launched a "sustained attack" and would have killed Mrs Williams if she had not disarmed him. "(The boy) deliberately stabbed Vicki Williams to the head and continued the attack," the prosecutor told the jury. "(The boy) would've continued this murderous attack had Vicki Williams not grabbed the knife and fended (him) off."
The trial at Swansea Crown Court is ongoing.
