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School stabbing girl wanted 'more eyes on her'

Meleri Williams
BBC News
BBC A police officer outside Ysgol Dyffryn Aman in Ammanford, with another office visible in the distance just inside the school and behind police tape. The name of the school is on the building's exteriorBBC
The 14-year-old is on trial after the stabbings at a Carmarthenshire school

A teenager who stabbed three people at a school said "more eyes would be on her" as the incident would be reported on the news, a jury has heard.

Teachers Fiona Elias, Liz Hopkin and a pupil were injured in the attack at Ysgol Dyffryn Aman, Ammanford, Carmarthenshire on 24 April 2024.

The 14-year-old girl, who cannot be named due to her age, previously admitted the triple stabbing but denies three counts of attempted murder.

On the fourth day of the trial at Swansea Crown Court, the jury watched a police officer's bodycam footage, in which the girl can be seen sitting in a police vehicle when she asks: "Are they going to die?"

"I've had loads of eyes on me today," she added.

"Sooner or later I'm sure this is going to be on the news, so even more people will be looking at me.

"That's one way to be a celebrity."

She admitted stabbing the pupil whilst in the police vehicle, and then said "oopsies".

Teachers Liz Hopkin (left) and Fiona Elias (right)
Teachers Liz Hopkin (left) and Fiona Elias (right) were injured at the school on 24 April

A video of her arrest was also shown to the jury, and a Dyfed-Powys Police officer said in a witness statement her demeanour was "cold".

Drawings found in the teenager's notebooks were shown to the jury, including one with the injured pupil's name surrounded with words such as "burning" and "death".

Further sentences including "why do I want to kill others just as much as I want to kill myself?" and "why do I feel nothing but hate?", were also shown to the jury.

"I feel like I'm going to commit a crime of a lifetime," was also found written in a book.

Another drawing with the title "Mrs Frogface Elias" was also found and shown to the jury.

Members were also shown injuries sustained by the teachers and pupil during the attack.

Prosecution barrister William Hughes KC described the images, which included a wound on Ms Hopkin's neck.

A number of witness statements on behalf of emergency workers at the scene were read in court, which referred to a "considerable amount of blood on the floor" around Ms Hopkin.

Ms Elias and the pupil's wounds were described as "superficial".

The trial continues.