Boy was sleep deprived before attack, jury told

The teenager from Blundell's boarding school in Tiverton is on trial for the attempted murder of two fellow pupils and his housemaster

A teenager who attacked two students and a teacher with hammers at a boarding school in Devon was sleep deprived and stressed, a jury has heard.

The pupil from Blundell's boarding school in Tiverton is on trial for the attempted murder of two fellow pupils and his housemaster during the attacks in June 2023.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies the charges.

His legal team told the jury at Exeter Crown Court he was sleepwalking and dreaming at the time of the attack and he has no memory of what happened.

'Not a wise owl'

Opening the defence case, barrister Kerim Fuad KC said the pupil was "glued" to his phone and iPad "systematically, continuously, almost religiously" nearly every night.

"He was rather like a night owl but with one big difference, night owls are wise and sleep in the day," Mr Fuad said.

"He was, of course, not sleeping during the day. Owls sleep in the day to recharge their batteries.

"Humans sleep at night to recharge their batteries. He was not a wise owl."

'Stressed to his eyeballs'

Mr Fuad said the defendant did not listen to his mother who sent him a text about the need to go to bed.

"It was a wonder he was able to do any school work at all," he told the jury.

He said the teenager was not only sleep deprived but "stressed to his eyeballs" after falling victim to a scam.

The jury heard he was "obsessive" in his searches on a range of topics such as prisons, serial killers and zombie apocalypses.

Mr Fuad said there was evidence of him sleepwalking and two witnesses had joked about how far he had walked.

He added the defendant saw the damage that had unfolded within seconds of housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester taking the hammer off him.

He said the teenager quickly pieced together that "he must have done these horrific things".

The trial continues.