School hammer attack took minutes, court hears

Dr Fegan-Earl said the injuries to two boys were not widely distributed which indicated a "short duration of assault"

A hammer attack on two sleeping boarding school pupils in Devon would not have lasted very long, a jury has heard.

Consultant forensic pathologist Dr Ashley Fegan-Earl told Exeter Crown Court it was "entirely plausible" the attack lasted "just one minute or two".

Dr Fegan-Earl said it was not possible to say whether the pupils at Blundell's School in Tiverton had been attacked with one hammer or two.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons and is now aged 17, denies three charges of attempted murder.

Dr Fegan-Earl, who appeared on behalf of the defence, said he could not tell which boy was attacked first on 9 June 2023.

He said the injuries to the pupils were not widely distributed which indicated a short duration of assault.

"All of the injuries I have seen are entirely consistent with blunt force trauma," Dr Fegan-Earl said.

The jury was previously told by prosecution witness Dr Richard Wellings, a consultant radiologist, the 15-year old victim suffered "at least 15 wounds to his scalp".

A second pupil, then aged 16, suffered brain damage when he was also attacked in their dormitory just before 01:00 BST.

Housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester was also injured when he was struck six times with a hammer when he went to investigate.

The jury has been told the defendant accepts carrying out the attacks but was not guilty of attempted murder because he was sleepwalking.

The trial continues.