Milford Haven teacher ‘feared she would die’ during pupil attack, court hears

A teacher who was stabbed in the head by a pupil with a large kitchen knife feared she would die, a court has heard.

The boy, 16, followed Vicki Williams into a classroom at Milford Haven Comprehensive School in Pembrokeshire, and asked for help with his history work.

Swansea Crown Court heard he then “lunged” at her with the knife, stabbed her in the head, and pushed her back into a chair.

Williams told the jury she believed she was about to die, thinking: “I’m dying. I’m not going to see my daughter again.”

The teenager, who cannot be named due to his age, denies attempted murder, wounding with intent and unlawful wounding, but previously admitted possessing a knife.

On the second day of the trial Williams told the jury she had taught the boy earlier that day and that he was “absolutely fine” in that lesson.

She said she could not recall any problems with him previously and that she believed they got on well.

She said it was “unusual” for him to come to her classroom to clarify work and that he was a “low work ability child”, but she agreed he may have had a “wake up call” after mock exams.

Describing the moments before the alleged attack, Williams said the defendant asked her to help him with his history work, repeatedly asking “is that right?” as he pointed at his book.

“All the time, he’s ruffling in his bag, he’s not looking at [the book],” Williams said.

“It’s a tactic to keep me talking. He’s then trying to creep. It’s a slow movement to try and get behind me.”

The teacher said the teenager pulled “something out of the bag”, and knocked her to her chair, adding: “I look up and the knife is point-end down.

“It felt very heavy, like a lot of pressure. As he’s making a stabbing motion, I grab the knife.

“The look was pure hatred. The eyes, it was pure hatred, they were definitely not vacant.”