Train attacker asked man 'do you want to die?', trial hears

Train passengers fled "in sheer terror" from a knife attacker who asked one victim "do you want to die?", a trial has heard.

Anthony Williams, 33, is accused of attempting to murder 10 passengers and staff on a train that had to make an emergency stop in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, on 1 November 2025. He is also accused of trying to kill three people in Peterborough the day before and then a boy at a London railway station.

Opening the prosecution case at Cambridge Crown Court, Christopher Paxton KC said that of those on the train "some stood tall, to protect others trying to de-escalate his rampage".

Williams, of Langford Road in Peterborough, denies 14 counts of attempted murder.

Williams is accused of attempting to murder Jonathan Gjoshe, Sachin Balakrishnan, David Presland, Scott Bletcher, Scott Green, Kevin Deely, Stephen Crean, Raza Aslam, Michael Paffett, and Samir Zitouni on the train between Peterborough and Huntingdon.

He is also accused of attempting to murder a 14-year-old boy and Dawid Taborski on a footbridge near Henry Penn Walk in Peterborough on 31 October, and William Ogelby at Railworld car park in the city shortly afterwards.

The jury heard he then travelled to east London, where he stabbed a young boy on a Docklands Light Railway train at Pontoon Dock in Silvertown in the early hours of 1 November.

Paxton said: "Across the Halloween weekend last year, to the many people he encountered the defendant Anthony Williams posed a dangerous threat, marauding through towns and cities, on streets and trains alike, armed with a knife.

"He stabbed many, seeking to end their lives with deadly intention, striking out at them when they were defenceless and in fear."

The trial has been told that whether Williams carried out the attacks was not in question, but jurors must consider whether he intended to kill those individuals when he carried out the attacks.

Paxton said Williams had "brought terror" to the train passengers in Cambridgeshire "which resulted in them fleeing and some fighting for their lives".

"In the face of that threat and the defendant's sheer brutality some stood tall to protect others trying to de-escalate his rampage, defending themselves and putting themselves in harm's way to protect strangers," he said.

He added that some had locked themselves in toilets, and others showed "extraordinary bravery" in trying to fend Williams off by grabbing items such as a toaster from the buffet car to protect themselves.

Samir Zitouni, a member of the train's crew, tried to use a frying pan to stop Williams, but was stabbed multiple times, the court heard.

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.

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