Boy, 15, ‘did not make real plan to murder’

A 15-YEAR-OLD boy accused of plotting a Columbine-style massacre at his school did not make a “real plan to murder”, a jury has been told.

Richard Pratt QC, defending the teenager, also claimed that writings in the boy’s diary – which, according to prosecutors, were indicative of a plan to murder students and teachers – represent the “wildest piece of fantasy”.

The boy and a younger co-defendant, also 15, are on trial at Leeds Crown Court over accusations that they devised a plot to murder classmates and teachers at their school in Northallerton, North Yorkshire.

According to prosecutors, the pair, who were 14 at the time, had been inspired by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the teenagers who killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School, Colorado, 1999.

Jurors have previously heard how the older of the two boys conducted internet searches on deadly weapons, with prosecutors claiming he “revelled” in the Columbine massacre.

Mr Pratt said: “Researching the Columbine murderers does not make you a killer. Buying guns and explosives – that’s what makes you a killer.

“Of course, they did not kill, as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold did, but neither did either of them make a real plan to murder.”

Summing up the case for the boy’s defence, he claimed there was no way he could purchase the “articles of destruction” necessary for the supposed attack, as he had, at most, £89 in his bank account.

The defendants deny a joint charge of conspiracy to murder, as well as alternative charges of intentionally encouraging or assisting an offence and encouraging or assisting an offence believing it would be committed.

The older boy additionally denies unlawful wounding and aggravated burglary.

The trial continues today.