The teen accused of stabbing a bullying classmate to death in a schoolyard brawl was a no-show Tuesday for his first scheduled court hearing.
Noel Estevez, 14, refused to appear in Bronx Supreme Court, where his lawyers were granted an extension to further investigate the teen’s case before it’s heard by a grand jury.
“We decided to put it off for a couple days. We want to do it right,” said defense attorney Eric Poulos. “There are hundreds of kids out there we need to talk to.”
He said Estevez, charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of Timothy Crump, 14, last week outside IS 117 in The Bronx, will testify before a grand jury.
“There’s only one thing to say: the truth,” said Poulos.
Three of Estevez’s relatives were also in court.
“It was in self-defense,” said a woman, who declined to give her name.
Family friends of the troubled boy said he was relentlessly bullied by Crump and feared for his life.
Estevez’s father tried to transfer him out of the school, but was denied because the school year was about to end, according to friend Marisol Perez.
Estevez is scheduled to return to court Monday — where he could be indicted on murder charges.