Stabbed schoolboy Harry Pitman was ‘aggressive’ at party

Schoolboy Harry Pitman was behaving aggressively and smoking cannabis before he was stabbed to death by a teenager on New Year’s Eve, a court heard.

Areece Lloyd-Hall, now 18, allegedly stabbed Harry, 16, in the neck with a hunting neck as crowds gathered to watch the fireworks on Primrose Hill on 31 December 2023.

Harry had been drinking and was seen getting into fights as well as accidentally falling into one of Lloyd-Hall’s friends, the Old Bailey heard.

Lloyd-Hall claims he killed Harry in self defence or in defence of others and that he believed the sheath was still on the blade when he stabbed Harry.

It was seen flying through the air during the moments Harry was stabbed.

Lloyd-Hall denies murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter.

In prerecorded evidence played to the jury, a teenager who was with Lloyd-Hall’s group said when he first saw Harry that night he was smoking marijuana with a group of people.

The teenager said: ’He was play fighting with a girl- it looked like he was doing some sort of martial art, he was just messing around.’

He said he then saw Harry with another boy shouting ‘bro I’m gonna f—ing knock you out, you don’t know me.’

The boy said: ‘I was amazed and shocked because there was a violent altercation happening.

‘It became physical as Harry grabbed [the other boy] by the coat and started pulling him closer towards him.

‘The next thing I saw [the other boy] was flying through the air, I think he got punched in the face.

‘I saw Harry throw a punch then saw [the other boy] flying and fell on the floor, the crowd just ensued him.’

He said he then saw Harry red faced arguing with another boy.

‘Harry’s whole group was enclosing us, I wasn’t involved, just being a spectator, they were around me throwing punches.

‘I was just standing there watching in shock.

‘One of the people came up to me and said “do you want some”, he was trying to find out if I was part of the group to fight me as well.

‘I just stayed silent and he walked past me.

‘I saw Areece. Our group was getting closed from all sides.

‘Harry was teaming up on him, closing onto him.

‘I just heard shouting, I didn’t remember much as I was in shock, and then in another three seconds I see Harry was holding onto his torso, he’s walking and I think “oh, he must be drunk”, but he walked and was getting clumpy and I thought it was because of the marijuana and alcohol he had drunk.

‘He stumbled in front of the police and I saw the blood that was everywhere and he immediately was unconscious on the floor with blood all over his chest.

‘I was so shocked, I could not believe what had just happened. It was a shocking sight.’

Lloyd-Hall, of West Kilburn, west London, denies murder.

The trial continues.