A TEENAGER accused of murdering a 13-year-old took a knife with him to meet the boy but insisted he did not want to harm him, telling a court: “Obviously it wasn’t supposed to be a murder.”

The boy, who is now 14 but was 13 at the time of the killing, denies murdering Oliver Stephens on January 3 this year.

A jury at Reading Crown Court has heard that the victim, known as Olly, was “lured” to a park by a girl, where he was then “ambushed” by two teenage boys and stabbed to death in Bugs Bottom field in Emmer Green.

READ MORE: Why we can't name the teenagers accused of murdering Olly Stephens

Both boys deny murder, while the girl, also 14, and the older boy have both admitted manslaughter.

The jury has previously heard that help had been sought from another girl to “set up” Olly but that she got cold feet.

She said in one message, sent the day before the attack: “I feel like I’m part of a murder team.”

The younger boy is alleged to have replied: “Nah, it’s not a murder, just start tryna get close to him.” (sic)

Asked what these messages were about, the boy told the court on Thursday: “Obviously it wasn’t supposed to be a murder and it’s (the message) just about trying to get close to him because I wanted him to come out, I wanted to speak to him.”

Defence barrister Timothy Raggett QC asked: “Did you want to do him any harm?”

The boy replied: “No.”

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Mr Raggett asked why anyone would want to get Olly out of his house and the boy said it was because there was “an issue”.

He added: “Olly’s been talking behind our backs, saying things we haven’t done.”

The boy said the older defendant had told him he knew where Olly would be on the day of the killing and had asked him to bring a knife.

The younger boy told the court that he did so, taking a vegetable knife from a bush near his house.

Asked why he had done this, he told the jury: “Obviously Olly was probably going to have a knife on him.

“I know he carries knives, I’ve seen him with knives.”

He said when he got there he thought the older boy would probably have a fight with Olly, and for his own part he would “make him (Olly) say sorry to me for talking about me”.

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Asked again if he wanted to harm Olly, the boy said he did not.

The boy said he first met Olly in early 2020 and “thought he was funny”.

The younger boy denies one other count of perverting the course of justice.

The older boy denies one charge of the same offence, and has pleaded guilty to another.