Alfie Lewis murder accused was 'usual self' before stabbing, court told

A teenager accused of murder was his usual "bubbly and chatty" self before stabbing another boy through the heart after school, a court has heard.

Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed on Church Road in Horsforth last November and died later in hospital.

A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder and is on trial at Leeds Crown Court.

One of his teachers said in a statement read in court the defendant's behaviour was "nothing out of the ordinary".

The teacher said the defendant "was both bubbly and chatty" in the last lesson of the day on 7 November.

"He was just his normal self," he said.

He added the defendant had "left the classroom quickly" when the lesson finished but "so did most of the other students, as is normal".

"I can say with absolute certainty there was nothing at all in his behaviour during the lesson that gave me any cause for concern," he said.

"He gave me no indication of what his intentions were."

The court also heard evidence from the defendant's friend, who was walking back from school with him on the day of Alfie's death.

The witness said there had been nothing unusual about the defendant that day, and he had not mentioned Alfie, or being worried about anything.

He told jurors they saw Alfie on his own near a crossing near a primary school.

"Normally we just cut through in front of the gate to the primary school but whilst we were walking [the defendant] just cut off me to go to Alfie's direction," he said.

"I was just really confused why he just left me, so I just carried on walking."

The witness said the defendant looked "more concentrated" after seeing Alfie.

He told the court that as he was walking away, he heard Alfie shout: "Chill out."

"I turned round and saw [the defendant] holding a knife and attacking Alfie," he said.

"After [the defendant] stabbed Alfie, he just ran off," he said.

Questioned by Nicholas Lumley KC, for the defence, the witness agreed he "must have missed the start of whatever happened" as he had his back to Alfie and the defendant.

He said he had never seen the knife before and did not know where it had been before seeing it in the defendant's hand.

Jurors have heard about two previous incidents involving Alfie and the defendant.

Prosecutor Craig Hassall KC said that in July 2023 Alfie had intervened in a fight involving the defendant and on 31 October Alfie claimed the defendant threw a firework at him.

Mr Hassall told jurors Alfie had been walking down the street to meet friends at the end of the school day when the defendant, 14 at the time, attacked him with a 5 inch (13cm) long kitchen knife he had brought from home.

He said witnesses recalled Alfie looking "surprised and shocked" and asking the defendant "what are you doing?" as the incident unfolded on 7 November 2023.

The prosecutor said a post-mortem examination revealed the fatal stab injury was a 14cm-deep wound to Alfie's chest which punctured his heart.

"As we understand it, [the defendant] will accept that Alfie was killed by the knife from his kitchen drawer at home, but will say that, at all times, he was acting in self-defence."

The trial continues.

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