Full Breakdown
Train Knife Attacks Over Halloween Weekend Lead to Court Hearing
By Drooid · · How we work
In this breakdown
01
Core Event: Court hearing and summary of the attacks
On October 28, a Cambridge Crown Court hearing detailed a series of knife attacks attributed to 33-year-old Anthony Williams. Jurors heard that Williams stabbed ten passengers and staff on a London-bound LNER service that was forced to stop at Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on November 1, 2025. The prosecution also linked him to three earlier assaults in Peterborough on October 31, 2025, and a separate stabbing of a 17-year-old on a Docklands Light Railway train in east London in the early hours of 1 November.
02
Background & Context: Halloween-weekend stabbing spree
The alleged assaults began on October 31, 2025, when Williams is accused of stabbing a 14-year-old boy on a footbridge near Henry Penn Walk, Peterborough, and then attacking Dawid Taborski and William Ogelby in the same town. After the Peterborough incidents, he allegedly consumed alcohol outside a bar, entered the premises brandishing a knife, and later travelled to London. In the early hours of 1 November, he is said to have knifed 17-year-old Isaiah Idris on the Docklands Light Railway at Pontoon Dock before boarding the east-coast Doncaster-London service, where the ten-person train attack unfolded over roughly five minutes.
Visual evidence
Images from the story
03
Data & Statistics
- Charges: 14 counts of attempted murder (10 for the train, 3 for Peterborough, 1 for the Docklands Light Railway).
- Victims on the train: Jonathan Gjoshe, Sachin Balakrishnan, David Presland, Scott Bletcher, Scott Green, Kevin Deely, Stephen Crean, Raza Aslam, Michael Paffett, Samir Zitouni.
- Earlier victims: 14-year-old boy (unnamed), Dawid Taborski, William Ogelby, Isaiah Idris.
- Injuries: Multiple stab wounds reported; Samir Zitouni suffered critical injuries while attempting to intervene with a frying pan.
04
Official Statements & Responses
Williams has denied all 14 counts of attempted murder, maintaining that while he “intended to harm” the named individuals, he did not intend to kill them.
05
Verbatim Quotes
“Ms Oakman thought his behaviour was erratic and intoxicated and noticed the defendant repeatedly said things like ‘I haven’t got it’ and she heard him mention the word ‘devil’,” — Mr Paxman
06
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
Witness accounts differ on the exact words Williams uttered during the train assault. Some jurors heard the phrase “Do you want to die?” The court has not yet clarified which statement, if any, can be definitively attributed to Williams.
07
What’s Next
The trial remains ongoing at Cambridge Crown Court. Jurors are expected to continue hearing evidence and testimony before a verdict is delivered at a later date.