Jury sent home in trial of schoolgirl accused of attempting to murder teachers

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

The jury in the trial of a schoolgirl accused of attempting to murder two teachers and another pupil at a school in South Wales has been sent home for the day.

The 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admits wounding with intent after stabbing three people at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman – also known as Amman Valley School – in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire, on April 24.

Swansea Crown Court heard the teenager, who was 13 at the time of the incident, attacked teachers Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin during the morning break using her father’s multitool.

She then moved on to stab another girl before being restrained by staff.

All three victims survived the attack but Ms Hopkin, who was stabbed in the neck, had to be flown to Cardiff by air ambulance.

The girl has insisted she did not mean to kill anyone during the incident.

Judge Paul Thomas KC called the jurors back into court on Tuesday afternoon and sent them home for the day.

The jury’s deliberations will resume on Wednesday.

The judge previously told the jurors they were under no time pressure to reach a decision.

The court has heard that the girl told police officers after she was arrested: “I’m pretty sure this is going to be on the news.

“So more eyes will be looking at me.

“That’s one way to be a celebrity.”

But she also asked “are they dead” and added: “How am I going to face my family after what I’ve done?”

The court heard that the girl described the attack on the teenager to the officers, saying: “I stabbed her, oopsies.”

The girl is also alleged to have confronted assistant head Ms Elias in the school yard, telling her “I’m going to kill you, I’m going to f****** kill you”, before launching her attack.

Fellow teacher Ms Hopkin immediately intervened and sustained injuries to her back, neck, legs and arms, and had to be airlifted for treatment.

Footage played in court showed her pushing past two male teachers who attempted to calm her down before running around a corner and attacking another teenager.

Giving evidence on Monday, the girl insisted she did not mean to kill anyone and that she had carried knives into school since she was in primary school.

She told the jury she kept the knives because she used them to self-harm and was frightened of being bullied.

The girl said she felt “terrible” about what had happened and that she would “do anything to go back”.

She said: “It doesn’t feel like I did it, to be honest. (I feel) terrible, guilty.”

She described the events as being a blur and could not remember much of the incident, but added: “I remember thinking to myself ‘What am I doing? What am I doing? Stop’”

On the day of the attack, the girl told the jury she had been in a “grumpy mood” and accepted she told friends she wanted to “slap” Ms Elias but insisted she did not intend to try to kill her.

Earlier in the trial, the girl’s father told the court she had been subjected to bullying at school, and alleged someone had attempted to break into their house.

In September 2023, the girl had been excluded from school for around a week after she was found with a knife in her bag.

As a result, her father began checking her bag but she said she kept taking a knife hidden in her pocket.

The trial continues.