Two boys were sleeping in cabin-style beds in Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon when the defendant climbed up and attacked them with both sustaining severe injuries
A teenager who allegedly assaulted two schoolmates and a teacher at a posh £41,000-a-year private school, has told the court he ‘doesn’t remember’ the attack.
The 16-year-old was only wearing his boxers when he launched the assault in June last year at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon.
Exeter Crown Court was told that the teen, who can’t be named due to legal reasons, had armed himself with three claw hammers and waited for the two other boys to fall asleep before supposedly attacking them.
Housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester, who was sleeping in his own quarters, was roused by noises coming from the boarding house and went to investigate, where he too was attacked.
The two schoolboys survived but only after enduring hours of life-saving surgery. The accused admits he carried out the attacks but pleads not guilty to attempted murder on the grounds that he was sleepwalking.
While giving evidence today, he told jurors he remembers going to bed on the evening in June last year. His representative, Kerim Fuad KC, asked him: “What was the next thing you remember?”
The boy responded: “I remember being in the room. The room was covered in blood. What I could see was blood. I didn’t hear anything. I remember walking out to the corridor.”
Mr Fuad enquired: “Are you aware of having sleepwalked in the past?”
The boy said he had and told the court his mum found him at the bottom of a staircase at their home around a decade ago.
Mr Fuad questioned the boy about his recollections of the incident at Blundell’s School, which occurred just after 1am on June 9.
The teen responded: “I knew something really bad had happened and everyone was looking towards me. I didn’t remember doing anything so the only rational thing I was thinking was that I was sleepwalking.”
He described himself as “scared and anxious” after being arrested and transported to custody in a police car. When asked why he answered ‘no comment’ to questions during police interviews, he said it was based on his solicitor’s advice.
The lad told the court he kept two hammers by his bed ‘for protection’, along with a screwdriver and a Swiss Army knife that he also had in his room.
Mr Fuad queried: “What did you need protection from?”
The boy answered: “The zombie apocalypse.”
He informed the jury that he had seen portrayals of zombies in films and TV series like The Walking Dead. Mr Fuad questioned: “Did you think the apocalypse was real?” The boy responded that he did.
The court was informed that the lad had conducted numerous searches about serial killers after watching the popular TV series Dexter. He stated: “I tried to find out more about it. My autism makes me more obsessive about certain topics, any topics I find interesting. I don’t really feel anything about my autism, it has always been in me and. I never noticed it.” He also searched for information regarding the duration of prison sentences because “I am just curious.”
Earlier, the jury heard that the two boys were sleeping in cabin-style beds in one of the school’s boarding houses when the defendant climbed up and attacked them. Both boys sustained skull fractures, as well as injuries to their ribs, spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.
Mr Roffe-Silvester received six blows to his head. The defendant, who is now 17 years old, denies three charges of attempted murder.
The trial continues.