Girl told schoolmates she'd stab teacher - court
· BBC NewsMeleri Williams
BBC News
Paul Pigott
BBC News
A teenage girl who stabbed three people at a school told schoolmates she would stab a teacher on the morning of the attack, a court has heard.
Teacher's Fiona Elias and Liz Hopkin and a pupil were stabbed at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman after the 14-year-old allegedly told another student she would "do something stupid which could get [her] expelled".
The girl, who cannot be named due to her age, admits stabbing the three and of being in possession of a knife, but denies attempted murder at the school in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire on 24 April this year.
On Thursday the teen's father told Swansea Crown Court he hadn't managed to check his daughter's bag on the morning of the incident, after she was previously caught carrying a knife.
The student, who also cannot be named due to her age, said the girl mentioned Ms Elias’s name when they spoke in the toilets that morning.
The jury also heard a police interview with another pupil, who was in the lower school hall during break time, who said the girl told her she would stab Ms Elias that day.
The pupil said the girl "half showed" her a knife that was in her pocket, minutes before the attacks.
"She [the girl] said she was going to stab someone or going to stab Ms Elias," said the witness.
"She always says stuff we don’t believe. I didn’t think she was going to stab her."
The pupil witness explained how she saw the girl talking to Ms Elias, when she was told she did not have permission to be in the lower school hall.
"There was no emotion in her face. It was as if she’d changed," she added.
She also explained how the teenager had "arguments" with Ms Elias in the past, adding she was often "disrespectful" and not "listening to rules" in school.
In another student’s police interview, he said he was also in the lower school hall with the girl when she said she would "do something".
"She kept saying stuff like 'you guys won’t see me for a while' and 'I’m going to be put away for a long time'.
"Then [a boy sitting next to her] asked ‘what are you going to do then?’
"She pulled a knife out of her pocket and she [said] 'I'm going to do something which includes a knife'."
He said he "laughed it off" believing it to be a joke and wanted to distance himself from the conversation.
Girl 'hated' teacher
Another school pupil’s interview was then showed to the jury, with the pupil claiming the 14-year-old told her in school a week before the stabbings that "her dad had weapons".
The pupil further claimed that she heard her saying she "hated Ms Elias", adding that she wanted "to kill her".
Earlier in the trial, the jury saw CCTV showing the girl stabbing another teacher, Liz Hopkin and a pupil.
The jury also heard a police interview from a male student who saw the 14-year-old "being slapped" by the pupil she later stabbed about a month before the incident.
"They were both yelling," he said, "[The slap] looked quite hard."
Jurors were also shown the knife - referred to as a multi-tool - which was used to stab both teachers and a pupil.
The father of the defendant confirmed he owned the knife, saying he kept in the house, normally with his fishing equipment.
He agreed that he had to attend Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in 2023 after a knife was found in his daughter's bag.
He said he checked her bag daily and removed anything potentially dangerous from the house.
When asked by prosecution barrister William Hughes KC if he checked her bag on 24 April, the dad said: "I didn’t manage to check her bag that morning.
"Nobody was up and around the house at the time she left the house."
He claimed his daughter had been bullied in the local community and would arrive home "visibly upset".
The girl denies three counts of attempted murder and the trial continues.