Stabbed boy felt train attacker was not sane, court hears

A trial is under way at Cambridge Crown Court, in England, of Anthony Williams, 33, from Peterborough. He denies 14 counts of attempted murder, ten of which relate to a mass stabbing on a London-bound train that made an emergency stop in Huntingdon in November 2025. Jurors were played a video-recorded interview with a 14-year-old boy who said he was stabbed in Peterborough the day before the train attack.

The boy's account

The boy cannot be named because of his age. He was waiting on a footbridge over the River Nene with a friend, about to go trick or treating, when he was attacked. He said the man was a stranger he had never seen before, who pulled out a knife and stabbed him. He believed the knife had probably been drawn from the man's waistband.

He told police he did not think the attacker was mentally sane, saying his eyes were wide open as if he were on something. His friend heard the man shouting something like "are you involved?". The pair ran away, hid in bushes and called the police. The boy said he had so much adrenaline that the stab felt like a poke in the chest.

The charges

Three attacks took place in Peterborough on 31 October: on the boy and Dawid Taborski on the footbridge, and on William Ogelby at the Railworld car park shortly afterwards. Williams is accused of trying to murder ten people on the train between Peterborough and Huntingdon on the Saturday evening. He is also accused of attempting to murder a teenager on a Docklands Light Railway train in London in the early hours of 1 November.

The court has heard that it is not disputed that Williams carried out the attacks; jurors must decide whether he intended to kill. In the prosecution opening, jurors were told he has some mental health issues which may or may not become relevant during the trial. The trial continues.