‘Huntingdon train attacker ‘asked man do you want to die?’

Jurors were told they would see footage from the train involving one of the victims, 73-year-old Presland, who the court heard was attacked after he fell to the ground.

Paxton said jurors would be able to see a “hand come up from the floor of the train – that was Mr Presland. You will see above him, all in black, the defendant wielding the knife”.

He said Presland had been “defenceless and powerless” and “was no threat to Mr Williams”.

One of the victims, jurors heard, “tried to grab the knife blade itself”, while another was stabbed in the head and stomach.

Paxton said one of the passengers, Crean, decided “he had to try to stop it” and “launched himself towards and at Mr Williams”.

Paxton said Williams asked Crean “do you want to die?”.

“We say [that was] clear evidence of the defendant’s intention to kill, as was the use of the knife to stab so many,” the prosecuting counsel said.

“The fact that some of the victims had minor cuts or wounds, or some had no injuries at all, does not mean there was no intention to kill.”

Paxton said “the attack was stopped only by the quick thinking of the train driver”, with the London-bound LNER service making an unscheduled stop at Huntingdon – the next station south from Peterborough.

The jury, consisting of three women and nine men, were told by the judge Mr Justice Calver that Williams was appearing via videolink from Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire, rather than sitting in the dock.

He said it would “best ensure his effective participation in the trial”, and would avoid a four-hour round trip to court.

The trial continues.

Do you have a story suggestion for Cambridgeshire? Contact us below.