Boy, 15, Guilty of Murdering School Pupil in Sheffield

A 15-year-old boy who stabbed another pupil to death during their lunch break has been found guilty of murder.

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Harvey Willgoose, 15, was stabbed in the heart in front of horrified children by another boy, who had brought a hunting knife to All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield on February 3.

Sheffield crown court was told that other pupils had fled “in fear and panic,” with some locking themselves in a school cupboard.

The defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted manslaughter but denied murder, saying he had “snapped” after a long period of bullying and did not remember what had happened.

However, prosecutors alleged that he “wanted to show he was hard” and “knew exactly what he was doing”.

On Friday, a jury found him guilty of murder by a majority of 11 to one after deliberating for more than 14 hours.

Jurors were told that Harvey was happily talking to his friends in a courtyard as lunch break started, when the defendant approached him. One teenage witness said there was an altercation and the defendant punched and pushed Harvey, causing him to stumble backwards, before pulling out a knife and stabbing him.

A girl who gave evidence said: “We went inside to go and tell a teacher, but the teacher was frozen as well. She didn’t know what to do. People were running, screaming everywhere. It was, like, chaos.”

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