TEENAGER STANDS TRIAL OVER STABBING OF SCHOOLGIRL

A trial has opened at King's Lynn Crown Court in which a teenage boy is accused of the attempted murder of a girl at a school in Norfolk. Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told jurors the boy took a kitchen knife to Thorpe St Andrew School, near Norwich, on 11 March. Paxton said the boy, dressed in black and wearing a mask, stabbed the girl in the back in a corridor that morning, describing it as a "knife strike delivered, we say, with an intention to kill." The prosecutor said the girl was discharged from hospital the following day, which he described as down to "sheer good fortune." The boy was arrested and "remained silent" during police interview, the court heard.

Paxton told jurors the attack was captured on CCTV at the school. He said the defendant had written notes referring to his "hatred for women." According to the Daily Mail, the notes recorded a "motive" listed as misanthropy, misogyny, suicide and bullying. The prosecutor said the boy had an "obsessive and dangerous interest in killers and killing." Jurors heard that a self-generated 17-second video, made using a phone app, was found on the boy's device, which Paxton said depicted the American serial killers Edmund Kemper and Ted Bundy dancing over an image of the globe.

The court also heard of an image of the fictional serial killer Paul Spector, from the BBC drama The Fall, captioned "me btw," which Paxton said appeared to have inspired the boy's preparation for the school attack. Jurors were told of a saved video from the television series Dexter, which centres on a serial killer, and a saved image of the serial killer Steve Wright. Paxton said a handwritten list of names was also recovered. The prosecution's opening at King's Lynn Crown Court continues, with further evidence expected to be presented to the jury.