BAILEY KILLER BOUGHT KNIVES ON EBAY; Witness tells court teenage accused thought weapons were 'cool to have' SCHOOL MURDER TRIAL DAY 2: JURORS TOLD OF ACCUSED'S TEARS He wiped blood off his hands on tissue and then he put his head in his hands and sobbed.

Byline: CHARLIE GALL

THE 16-year-old who stabbed schoolboy Bailey Gwynne to death bought knives and knuckledusters on eBay, a murder trial heard yesterday.

A teenage witness told how the accused showed him a knife "maybe 25" times, and knuckledusters "40, maybe 50" times before October 28 last year - the TURN TO PAGE SIX FROM PAGE ONE day Bailey, 16, was fatally stabbed at Cults Academy near Aberdeen.

The accused admits killing Bailey by knifing him in the heart, but denies murder.

The witness said he told his friend he should not be carrying the knife.

"I said, 'Why did you bring it to school?" he told prosecutor Alex Prentice QC.

"He was just like, thought it was cool.

It was something cool to have.

"He was just showing it or having it out, cutting up some bits of paper and making marks."

The witness said the accused showed him two knives, and knuckledusters, over two years. He said the last time was two days before Bailey's death.

The boy said he understood his friend had bought them on the internet: "Somewhere online, maybe eBay, I don't know." He added: "I would always tell him not to have it but he wouldn't listen. I said, 'You're too young for that kind of stuff.

You might get caught and get in trouble.'" The accused stabbed Bailey at lunch time in a large corridor known as The Street.

Deputy head David Strang, 50, told yesterday how he sat with the accused in the office as other staff tried to help Bailey after the incident.

He said of the boy: "He was wiping his nose on a tissue I'd given him. He wiped blood off his hands on to the tissue.

"There were times when he got upset and put his head into his hands and sobbed a bit. Then he composed himself."

Mr Strang also told how the boy reached into his pocket and handed him a knuckleduster.

PC Christopher Masson, the first officer to reach the school, said he found the accused in an office beside the entrance.

He said the boy was "obviously very upset and distressed - crying".

PC Masson said that as his colleagues handcuffed the boy, he asked them: "Is he dead? It was just a moment of anger."

He said the boy then told them that the knife was "in a bin, where there were two bins near the canteen further along the corridor".

The accused had not been detained or questioned at that point. A search of his belongings revealed a knife sheath in his blazer pocket.

PC Masson said there was a teacher in the office, who handed one of his colleagues a knuckleduster.

Earlier, the young witness who said the accused showed him weapons told how he watched the fatal confrontation between the boy and Bailey.

The trial heard on Tuesday that the trouble began after Bailey refused to give the accused a biscuit.

The witness said a group of pupils were in The Street when the trouble started. He added: "Bailey had biscuits, the rest were on sweets.

"I didn't have any lunch that day so I asked Bailey for a biscuit and he gave me one.

"I asked him for a second one and he said no, as I think he had only one left."

The boy said Bailey went to walk away but a remark made him turn back and go "face to face" with the accused.

He recalled: "Bailey turned round and said, 'What did you say?'" The witness said he was not sure who said what first. He said the accused called Bailey's mother a "fat bitch" and Bailey called him a "fat c***".

"I was really shocked," the boy added. "Bailey was known for not fighting back. People would say stuff to him and he would just not say anything back."

The court heard that Bailey and the accused started pushing and grappling with each other and Bailey got the accused in a headlock.

"It was a mix between a headlock and being strangled," the witness said.

He said the accused tried to get out of Bailey's grip but was thrust back against a wall.

The witness said he then saw the accused reach into his blazer pocket and thrust something into Bailey's ribs.

He said he did not think the accused could see Bailey's whole body when he did it, because he was in a headlock.

Mr Prentice asked the witness what the accused had done. The boy replied: "He stabbed him."

Asked if he had seen the knife, he replied: "It was too fast." Asked if he saw the motion, he said: "Yes."

The witness said he knew Bailey had been stabbed because he saw "a big splutter of blood" on the floor. Bailey was "bleeding and bleeding" as a teacher led him along the corridor.

The boy added: "There was blood dripping down all the way and towards the end Bailey started to stutter and just collapsed.

"They made him walk all the way across school to the other side. I don't know how they didn't notice he was bleeding all the way."

Ian Duguid QC, defending, asked the witness about the accused trying to be excused from PE classes because other pupils teased him about having "breasts" like a female and he didn't want them to see him naked.

The boy replied: "Most people would say it jokingly, and he would mostly interpret it as a joke."

The witness was also asked if he and the accused had ever discussed the cities of Glasgow and Aberdeen regarding knife crime.

The boy replied: "Most think that Glasgow is famous for having lots of stabbings. He would very rarely mention it but I think we spoke about it as a stereotype."

Prosecution and defence agree that the accused is responsible for Bailey's death.

He denies murder, and further charges of carrying knives and knuckledusters at the school between August 2013 and October 28 last year.

The trial before Lady Stacey continues today.

CAPTION(S):

COLLAPSE Bailey, 16, was bleeding heavily after knifing

KILLED IN THE LUNCH HOUR Bailey was stabbed by the accused in school corridor

I GAVE HIM A TISSUE Deputy head David Strang

FIRST TO ARRIVE PC Christopher Masson at the High Court yesterday

TRIBUTE Flowers for Bailey outside school