‘Scene of pandemonium’ as teenage girl stabbed at railway station

The witness, British Transport Police officer detective constable Daniel Murphy, is now being cross-examined by Kevin Seal for the defendant. The barrister takes the witness through the messages between the defendant and complainant about meeting at “Cady” station.

The barrister asks the witness whether it was the case that the defendant and his friend were at the station when the complainant and her friend arrived and the witness confirms that is the case.

The barrister asks the witness whether the “exchange”of what is presumed to be a vape between the complainant and the defendant was caught on camera and the officer says no.

The barrister asks the witness whether it is the case that the male who was with the defendant was spoken to and that no action has been taken against him. The officer confirms that.

The barrister asks the witness whether the defendant was wearing a glove or gloves when he walked into the lane near the station. The officer says he does not know.

The barrister asks the defendant whether it is the case that the defendant subsequently bought a train ticket from Cardiff Central to Cwmbran as opposed to anywhere else in the country. The officer says that is correct.

That concludes the officer’s evidence and concludes the hearing for the day.

The trial will resume at 10.30am on Tuesday.

The jury is now being shown screenshots taken from the phones of the defendant and the alleged victim from the afternoon of January 27 in which they exchange messages discussing meeting at “Cady station”.

There is also a message from the defendant to the complainant in which he says: “Say something and you are dead.”

The jury is now being shown messages between the defendant and various friends in the aftermath of the incident. The court hears many of the messages are written in “youth speak” and the prosecution barrister and the officer say they will do their best to read them out.

In one message the defendant is asked if he stabbed the girl and he says he did and “regrets it”. In response to another question about whether he did it the defendant says “I did g handing myself in tomoz”.

In response to another friend who says: “No f***ing way I act [actually] don’t believe it”. The defendant says: “I’m online Wales”.

The court hears another friend tells the defendant he is going to jail for 40 years with another friend advising him not to hand himself in if he hasn’t been caught. The defendant says the “Feds” came to his door and he has been caught.

The court is now hearing details of text conversations between the defendant and his girlfriend before the incident in which he tells her what he plans to do. The girlfriend urges him not to do it.

His girlfriend said: “So you just going to kill [her] is that your plan?”

Defendant: “I die or [she] dies. I don’t care any more. This is what I do.”

The court hears in one message the defendant tells his girlfriend: “I love you so much and you make me so happy.”

The jury is now being shown CCTV footage from Cardiff Central railway station timed at 10pm which the witness, officer in the case Daniel Murphy, says shows the defendant buying a ticket from a ticket machine. He says despite searches of CCTV footage there were no CCTV sightings of the defendant travelling between Grangwtown and Cardiff Central stations.

The jury is now being shown footage which the witness says shows the defendant going through the ticket barriers at Cardiff Central and catching a train to Cwmbran. Further footage shows the defendant exiting Cwmbran station at 10.41pm and walking off.

That concludes the CCTV evidence.

The trial is resuming after the lunch break with detective constable Daniel Murphy of British Transport Police continuing to give evidence.

The officer tells the jury a trawl of CCTV coverage of cameras between the McDonald’s restaurant and Cadoxton station turned up a clip of the defendant walking by AC Car Sales at 6.33pm. The jury is shown the footage.

The jury is now being shown footage from Cadoxton railway station which the officer says shows the defendant walking past police tape outside the station and going onto the platforms past a police officer. He says further footage shows the defendant on the platform as a train bound for Cardiff Central pulls up.

The jury is shown CCTV footage from inside a train timed at 7.20pm which the officer says shows the defendant.

The jury is now shown CCTV footage which the officer says shows the defendant walking away from Grangetown railway station.

The next clips show the complainant and a friend walking across the station car park followed by the defendant and a friend and a brief exchange between the parties taking place outside the station building.

The next clip shows the complaint and her friend walking down the lane which runs from the station car park to Little Moors Hill. The witness, detective constable Daniel Murphy, says the defendant can be seen following the pair down the lane and stabbing the alleged victim in the back before turning and running.

The clip, which is just a few seconds long, is replayed a number of times for the jury.

Prosecutor Alexander Greenwood says: “As far as your evidence is concerned that is the moment at which [the complainant] is stabbed?” The British Transport Police officer replies: “Yes, that is correct”

A member of the public can be seen going to the aid of the complainant and using a phone to dial 999.

The court is then shown a compilation of CCTV clips which the officer says show the defendant in the minutes after the incident. He says they show the defendant running through the station car park where he is joined by his male friend and show the pair running back along Vere Street. He says the pair can be seen passing the Robert Price builder’s merchants before arriving at the Barry McDonald’s restaurant.

The jury is now being shown CCTV from inside the restaurant timed at between 6.22pm and 6.25pm which the officer says shows the defendant and his male friend sitting down at a table. The officer says the defendant can be seen removing items from a pocket. The officer says the pair then leave McDonald’s with the defendant picking up a glove from the seat as he does so.

That completes this morning’s evidence. The court breaks for lunch.

The first witness is British Transport Police detective constable Daniel Murphy. He is what is known as the officer in the case meaning the officer with overall responsibility for the investigation.

The jury is shown CCTV footage from a Cardiff to Cadoxton train on the afternoon of the day in question showing the defendant among the passengers onboard.

The jury is now shown clips of CCTV footage from near the Londis shop in Vere Street from between 5.45pm and 5.55pm on January 27. The defendant and another male are outside the shop. The officer tells the jury the complainant can be seen walking past the shop and that the defendant throws a plastic bottle in her direction. The officer says the footage also shows the defendant picking up an object from a windowsill – an object he says is a glove – which he puts on his hand.

Further footage shows the complainant and male friend walking off in the direction of Cadoxton railway station, followed a short time later by what the officer says is the defendant.

The trial resumes with an empty dock. Judge Jeremy Jenkins tells the jury that the court has been advised it is “far better for [the defendant’s] mental health if he is not present for the calling of evidence” and that with the agreement of the defence the trial will continue in the defendant’s absence. The prosecution will now begin to call evidence.

Prosecution barrister Alexander Greenwood is now telling the jury about text messages between the defendant and friends which were sent and received before the incident in which the defendant said the girl was “gonna die today” and he was going to “stab her”. When asked by a friend why he was going to do it the defendant replied she had “chat she about my mum” which police interpret as “chat sh** about my mum”.

The barrister tells the jurors the burden of proof in the case lies with the prosecution and he says they will ultimately have to decide:

1) Did [the defendant] stab the complainant in the back?

2) Did he have a knife?

3) Did he send a message to the complainant reading “Say something and you are dead”?

The court takes a break. The judge tells the jury that due to the nature of the defendant’s condition there will be frequent short breaks in proceedings.

Prosecution barrister Alexander Greenwood says a “scene of pandemonium” then ensued and the emergency services were called. Police were quickly at the station and an officer applied pressure to a wound in the girl’s back before she was taken to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff. Medics found a 4cm-long stab wound to the right flank/back and a displaced right kidney. The injured girl spent a total of a week in hospital.

The barrister says following the incident the defendant sent the girl a text saying: “Say something and you are dead.”

Welcome to our coverage of the trial. The jury of 12 has been selected and is being sworn in and the trial will start shortly. Due to the age of the teenage defendant he cannot be named.

The court hears the defendant is charged with attempted murder, a lesser alternative of wounding with intent, possession of an offensive weapon, and doing an act intended to pervert the course of justice. The charges relate to an incident at Cadoxton railway station in Barry on January 27.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins tells the jury that, “through no fault of his own”, the defendant has been found to be unfit to stand trial and so its task will be not to decide his guilt or innocence but to decide whether he committed the acts alleged or not.