Alfie Lewis: teenager boy, 15, was stabbed and killed 'in full view' of primary school pupils and parents, court hears

A teenager who was killed in a knife attack in Leeds last year was stabbed “in full view” of primary school pupils and parents, a court has heard.

Alfie Lewis, 15, was stabbed and killed in Horsforth, Leeds in November 2023. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of murdering the young boy.

Prosecutor Craig Hassall FC told the Leeds Crown Court jury that Alfie had been walking to meet friend when he was stabbed near St Margaret's Primary School on Church Lane on November 7. He was twice stabbed with a 13cm kitchen knife - once in his chest and one in his leg, according to the prosecutor. He added: "He collapsed and died in the road close to the primary school in full view of scores of pupils leaving school and the people who were waiting to collect them."

A post-mortem found a 5.5 inch-deep wound to his chest, through which the knife had punctured his heart. The court heard that the knife was dropped near the school and the defendant had fled the scene by the time emergency services arrived.

Mr Hassall added that he expected the defendant to claim that the attack was in self-defence, but that there were witness testimonies that could corroborate that Alfie was not an aggressor in the situation. A teacher of the defendant gave evidence at the trial today (April 23) in which they said that there was “nothing out of the ordinary” during his last lesson of the day, which he left “quickly” but this was not unusual for students.

He said: “He was both bubbly and chatty. He was just his normal self. 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 gave me no indication of what his intentions were.”

A friend of the accused, who walked home with the defendant from school on the day of Alfie’s death, echoed his teacher’s observations that there was nothing unusual about his behaviour. The teenager said: “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. I was just really confused why he just left me, so I just carried on walking.”

He noted that the defendant looked “more concentrated” on Alfie, and later heard Alfie saying “chill out” while he walked towards him. The witness told the court: “I turned round and saw (the defendant) holding a knife and attacking Alfie. After (the defendant) stabbed Alfie, he just ran off.”

On questioning, the witness told Nicholas Lumley KC, defending, that he “must have missed the start of whatever happened” as he had his back to the pair initially. Jurors also heard that the witness had never seen the knife before be did not know where it had been before seeing it in the defendant’s hand.

The court was also told of two previous incidents involving Alfie and the defendant, including one in July 2023 in which Alfie intervened in a fight involving the defendant and another on Halloween 2023, in which Alfie claimed the defendant threw a firework at him.

The trial continues at Leeds Crown Court.