Man accused of stabbing 10 on London-bound train faces murder trial
Anthony Williams is on trial for allegedly attempting to murder ten passengers and staff on an LNER service on 1 November, after a series of knife attacks in the days prior.
A court in Cambridge heard that Anthony Williams, 33, is charged with attempting to murder ten passengers and staff after stabbing multiple people on an LNER train bound for London on 1 November. Prosecutor Christopher Paxton KC told jurors that Williams moved through the crowded carriage, stabbing several individuals and creating “terror and fear on an unimaginable scale.”
"The defendant, Mr Williams, armed with a knife, caused terror and fear on an unimaginable scale, moving up and down a busy train from which there was no escape, stabbing several people as he did so," Paxton said.
The prosecution presented CCTV footage showing passenger Stephen Crean trying to wrestle the knife from Williams, during which Williams allegedly asked, “Do you want to die?” Paxton said the evidence demonstrated a clear intent to kill, citing the multiple stab wounds inflicted on Crean’s hand, head and lower back.
Witnesses described passengers fleeing, hiding in toilets and under seats, while some intervened. Scott Green was stabbed while attempting to seize the knife, and train crew member Samir Zitouni was stabbed repeatedly after using a frying pan to block the attacker. The train driver was also commended for making an emergency stop in Huntingdon.
Williams, who has no fixed abode, previously admitted to a series of offences, including wounding twelve people, but denies the fourteen counts of attempted murder. The court heard he had attacked a 17-year-old on the Docklands Light Railway earlier on 1 November, and three people in Peterborough on 31 October, including a 14-year-old boy.
The trial is set to continue on Thursday.