Zane Smart's alleged murderer describes being attacked with sword before delivering fatal blow
Schoolboy Zane Smart attacked his alleged killer with a "Samurai sword" before being fatally stabbed, a court has heard.
The teenager accused of murdering 15-year-old Zane took the witness stand in Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday to give his version of events of May 27 last year.
The 17-year-old said he approached the spot in Pendeford where the two were supposed to have a pre-arranged fight but turned back when he saw Zane holding a "Samurai sword".
He said: "I was scared when I saw the sword. I could tell Zane was going to use it, so I walked the other way. I was going to the bus stop to go home. I did not run because I did not want Zane telling everyone I had ran away from the fight.
"But when I was walking I saw a silver object flash past my shoulder. I turned around, Zane was holding the sword. I asked him what he was doing."
When asked if he was the person who was heard "screaming hysterically" before the altercation he said he was.
He said: "Zane said something like 'this is what happens when you mock me in front of everyone'. He swung the knife and caught me on the forehead. He then swung it again and it connected with my wrist."
The boy said his spectacles fell off during the fight, leaving him scared and with blurred vision.
He said: "My knife fell out of my jacket pocket, on to the floor, and I picked it up and held it in front of me so Zane would see it. Zane said 'you think that is going to save you?'
"It did not put him off and he kept attacking me."
When asked if he meant to kill Zane the boy replied "no", but he remembered the blow.
He said: "I knew I had connected with him, I felt my hand thrust and I felt it penetrate his clothing, but I did not know if it stopped with it penetrating his skin."
He said that Zane then ran away with the boy giving chase. A witness previously told the court she had seen him throw something in the canal.
Zane collapsed a short distance away after sustaining a wound to the chest, which he subsequently died from.
The defendant, who was 16 at the time and cannot be named due to his age, denies murder and possession of a knife in public without lawful excuse.
The trial continues.
