A 14-year-old boy who was stabbed in Peterborough stated that the man who attacked him did not appear to be "mentally sane," a court heard. The incident occurred the day before Anthony Williams, 33, is accused of attempting to kill 10 people on a train that made an emergency stop in Huntingdon in November 2025.
During a video-recorded interview played to jurors at Cambridge Crown Court, the boy recounted that Williams "just pulled out a knife and stabbed me" while the two were on a footbridge over the River Nene. The teenager, who cannot be identified due to his age, said Williams "drew a knife from his waistband" and attacked him because he was closest. "I didn't feel like he was mentally sane. His eyes were wide open, like he was on something," the boy testified. He also recalled his friend hearing Williams shout, "are you involved?"
The boy described the stabbing as feeling "like a poke in the chest" due to adrenaline, before he and his friend fled and contacted the police.
Jurors also heard testimony from Dawid Taborski, whom Williams is also accused of attempting to murder. Taborski said he was heading to a rave when a man with a "very, very deep voice" asked "are you involved?". The man then pulled a knife from a backpack and lunged at him. Taborski stated he told the man to "just step back" before he "literally... ran for my life."
Another alleged victim, William Ogelby, was on his way to a cashpoint when he was approached by a man who said "wagwan," which he understood as a greeting. Ogelby said the man then produced a kitchen knife from a rucksack and attempted to stab him multiple times. Ogelby managed to jump back and escape, thinking, "I thought he was going to kill me."
Williams, of Langford Road in Peterborough, denies 14 counts of attempted murder. The prosecution stated that Williams "has some mental health issues which may or may not become relevant during this trial." The court has been told that the fact Williams carried out the attacks is not disputed, but the jury must determine his intent to kill.
Williams is accused of attempting to murder ten individuals on a London-bound train between Peterborough and Huntingdon, as well as a teenager on a Docklands Light Railway train in London in the early hours of November 1, 2025. The trial is ongoing.