Woman denies 'deliberately' attacking 17-year-old with knife in Walsall town centre, trial hears

Prosecutors allege Maariya Arif, aged 19, had deliberately tried to wound the victim after they saw each other on August 3 last year.

Arif, who denies charges of wounding and possession of a knife, encountered the teenager outside the Co-op on Bridge Street, jurors heard.

The two women were engaged in a brawl at 4.15pm and a knife was pulled which led to the 17-year-old, now 18, suffering a deep wound in the back of her neck, a court was told.

She was treated at Walsall Manor Hospital for her injuries along with superficial wounds to her head and her finger, jurors heard.

Mr David Oshcroft, prosecuting, claimed Arif had a knife in her possession and had "deliberately" attacked the other woman as "revenge" for a previous incident and intended to do her harm.

Mr Rag Chand, defending Arif, said the victim had the knife and the defendant was acting in self-defence, with the victim suffering the wounds due to Arif defending herself, a judge heard.

Arif, who gave evidence to Wolverhampton Crown Court, denied having a knife and had no reason to have a knife, having been to an orthodontist appointment before the incident.

The defendant said she was "very scared" as the woman approached her and said the victim "produced a knife" which led to her striking out, causing the knife to fall to the floor.

Injuries

The 19-year-old said she didn't intend to deliberately harm the victim and denied saying "I'm going to stab you up", adding: "I never tried to hurt her at all I just tried to push her off me."

Arif had picked up the knife and had put it in the handbag and had taken it home, where it was found and seized by police after they arrested her at her address the following day.

Witness Dayle Jones, who gave evidence to Wolverhampton Crown Court, said he came out of Co-op, on the way to the gym, when he saw the brawl.

He told jurors he saw two women fighting outside and heard one woman holding "what appeared to be" a blade, or knife, which was red in colour.

Mr Jones said in his witness statement he had heard one woman, who had the knife, say "I'm going to stab you up" to the other woman, a judge heard.

He said the woman with the blade ended up on the floor during the incident and the other woman – who didn't seem to be holding anything – had backed away, jurors were told.

Mr Jones claimed the woman with the knife had put the knife in her bag and left whilst the other woman started "bleeding from her neck" after the incident.

When cross-examined by Mr Chand he explained he was unable to say who pulled the knife and if any argument had taken place beforehand – and said he didn't see any person "lunging" or stabbing forward.

Mr Oscroft, prosecuting, said Arif's story of not having the knife was "nonsensical" and was a "lie" and said the evidence was "overwhelming" the defendant had produced the knife.

Mr Chand, defending Arif, of Friary Close in Walsall, said jurors "can't be sure" how the injuries occurred – with witness Mr Jones saying he didn't witness a "deliberate" stabbing motion.

Arif denies wounding and possession of a knife. The trial continues.