Father of murder-accused teen gives evidence

Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed in Horsforth, Leeds, on 7 November 2023, a trial has heard

The father of a 15-year-old boy accused of murdering Leeds teenager Alfie Lewis has given evidence about the knife used in the stabbing.

Alfie Lewis, 15, was fatally stabbed in the chest and leg on 7 November with a knife that had been painted black.

The defendant’s father said the knife had been painted as a "prank" by his son at a family barbecue in October, and that it was not used as a general kitchen knife but for gardening.

The boy, who was 14 at the time of the incident and cannot be named due to his age, denies murder and says he did not intend to kill or hurt Alfie.

The defendant has previously told the trial at Leeds Crown Court that he took the knife from his home on the day of the killing because it was "the bluntest in the kitchen at the time".

His father was also asked about a photograph of his son, previously shown to the jury, in which the boy is pictured holding a knife and wearing a scarf around his face.

His father said the photo was taken on holiday while visiting relatives in the family’s ancestral home during the summer last year.

The man said his son was holding the blade because his brother - the boy’s uncle - makes tools professionally, including knives, and they were talking to the children about their cultural heritage.

He said there were adults present when the photo was taken, and it was a "model", not a "real" knife.

However, in their closing speech on Wednesday, the prosecution said the photographs shown to the jury showed the defendant had "more than a passing interest in knives".

Craig Hassall KC also said there were "inconsistencies" in the defendant’s account of the stabbing, and that the accused had had plenty of opportunities to tell someone about his alleged fear of Alfie Lewis prior to the incident.

He said it was not the prosecution’s case that this was a "planned, deliberate killing" but that that were "obvious elements of planning".

He asked the jury to consider "what other intention could there be, other than to cause really serious harm?"

'Heat of the moment'

In his closing statement, defence barrister Nicholas Lumley KC told the jury that the defendant had not planned to kill Alfie, but had been acting in the "heat of the moment".

He asked the jury: "Has he chosen to do this? Knowing that not one, but two schools’ worth of parents, staff and pupils would be there on the pavement?

"Knowing that it would be broad daylight?

"Is that what you would do if you were planning to attack someone?"

Mr Lumley also told the jury that the defendant had made no attempt to hide his connection to the knife, or to hide from the police.

"Those actions aren’t consistent with someone who’s planned or intended it to happen," he said.

"He will live for the rest of his life with the knowledge that he has killed another boy, but we say that you cannot safely be sure that for the rest of his life he should be called a murderer," he added.

The trial continues.