Tomasz Oleszak: Murder accused 'cannot remember' attack details

Tomasz Oleszak died in hospital the day after he was injured

A teenager accused of killing a 14-year-old boy cannot remember what his movements were during a group attack, a jury heard.

Tomasz Oleszak died after being stabbed in the chest in Gateshead in October.

The 15-year-old defendant, who cannot be identified, has denied murder and an attempted wounding of another boy.

Newcastle Crown Court was told the teenager only had one injury to his thumb despite claiming he was "punched and kicked" by multiple youths.

The court previously heard the boy, who was 14 at the time, was set upon in Whitehills Nature Park on the evening of 3 October.

He told jurors he had earlier taken a steak knife from his home for "reassurance" and while he accepted he stabbed Tomasz, he said he did not intend to.

Under cross-examination by Mark McKone KC, the boy said he could not remember if he punched or kicked anyone or if he was punched or kicked himself.

Neither could he recall the movements he had made with his arms which he previously told the court he did in an attempt to "fight back".

Tomasz's accused killer said he stabbed him by accident

Mr McKone read extracts of the teenager's defence statement in which he said he was "punched and kicked" by multiple youths, possibly five.

When questioned about it in court, the boy said he could not remember.

He said he was grappled and pulled to the ground at which point he pulled the knife from his body-warmer pocket, but when asked why he took the blade out he replied: "I don't know."

When pressed to remember, the boy said he tried "to show them I had it so they'd just leave us alone".

'Didn't want to harm'

He also could not remember what movements he made with the knife, although he previously told the court he had been "throwing" his "arms all over".

A medical examination two days after the attack found his only injuries were "abrasions" to this thumb.

Mr McKone asked why, if the defendant had been assaulted by "five young men", he was not more badly injured. He said he did not know and denied lying about being attacked.

When asked how he had stabbed Tomasz - who suffered an 8cm-long wound to his chest - he could not remember but said he "didn't want to harm anyone".

The boy was questioned about witnesses' claims he said he had "wetted" someone, a reference to the stabbing, but the boy denied it was the sort of thing he would have said.

He told the jury he did not know why he hid the knife in bushes or why he messaged his friend he would have it "melted".

Closing his questioning, Mr McKone said to the boy: "The prosecution say that you stabbed Tomasz in the chest on purpose, that's right isn't it?"

The boy replied: "No."

Jurors previously heard the boy became "very scared" when he and a 14-year-old girl he was with were followed.

The trial has heard Tomasz, who moved to the UK from Poland in 2012, was fatally injured during unrest between a large group of youths.

The trial continues.