Hammer attack schoolboy guilty of attempted murder

The boy said he was sleepwalking and dreaming when the attacks happened at Blundell's School

A public schoolboy who claimed he was sleepwalking when he attacked two sleeping roommates and a housemaster at his boarding school in Devon with hammers, has been found guilty of three counts of attempted murder.

The attacks happened in the early hours of 9 June 2023 at Blundell's School in Tiverton, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The two roommates, aged 15 and 16 at the time, were left with severe injuries and the housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester suffered six wounds to his head.

The boy, aged 16 at the time of the attacks, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court he was sleepwalking and dreaming when the attacks happened.

He claimed he had the hammers for protection against a "zombie apocalypse".

The jury returned their majority verdicts after nearly eight days of deliberation and a trial lasting nine weeks.

The court heard from pupils, teachers, the police, a consultant forensic pathologist, paramedics, sleep experts and the defendant's mother.

The defence had argued it was a case of “textbook sleepwalking” while the prosecution said it had been planned and what happened that night was not the actions of somebody sleepwalking.

Sentencing will take place on 18 October following psychiatric reports.

A student called 999 believing there was an intruder

The court heard the boy had armed himself with three claw hammers and waited for the two boys to be asleep before attacking them.

The two pupils were asleep in cabin-style beds in one of the co-ed school’s boarding houses when the defendant climbed up and attacked them shortly before 01:00.

Mr Roffe-Silvester was woken up by noises coming from the dormitory and went to investigate.

When he entered the room where the attack had happened, he saw a silhouetted figure standing in the room, who then turned towards him and repeatedly struck him over the head with a hammer.

Another student heard Mr Roffe-Silvester shouting and swearing as he fled the bedroom and dialled 999, believing there was an intruder.

The two boys were discovered in their beds a few minutes later, the court was told.

They had suffered skull fractures, as well as injuries to their ribs, spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.

Both are living with the "long-term consequences" of the attack but have no memory of the incident, the jury heard.

The attack unfolded in a dormitory at the school

During the trial, James Dawes KC, prosecuting, told jurors the boy had an "obsession with killing and killers and the killing of children".

He said the pupil was using his iPad "right up to the moment before the attack".

But one expert told the jury the boy could have been sleepwalking.

Dr Mark Pressman said the attack on Mr Roffe-Silvester was "a textbook example of sleepwalking violence" and said there were no features in the case inconsistent with sleepwalking.

Relatives of the defendant also told the court about a history of sleepwalking in their family.

Another expert, Dr John O'Reilly, said he did not believe the boy was asleep as a sleepwalker does not initiate violence because it is triggered by noise or touch.

Giving evidence, the boy who is now aged 17, told jurors he remembered going to sleep before the attack and then seeing the dormitory covered in blood.

"I knew something really bad had gone on and everyone was looking towards me," he said.

"I didn't remember doing anything so the only rational thing I was thinking was that I was sleepwalking."

He said he kept two hammers by his bed "for protection" from the "zombie apocalypse".

The boy added: "I feel very terribly sorry for all three individuals because of what I did to them.

"I feel very sorry for everyone, the families and themselves."

'Profoundly shocking'

Blundell's headteacher Bart Wielenga said in a statement after the case he was "tremendously proud of our school community and its response to circumstances that have been profoundly shocking and entirely unprecedented".

He said the lives of the two pupils who were attacked were "undoubtedly saved" by the "remarkable" actions of fellow pupils and Mr Roffe-Silvester, as well as the emergency services and surgeons who treated them.

The school was "thankful for the remarkable recovery made by all the victims", he said.

"We are mindful that the psychological wounds sometimes take longer to heal than the physical ones, and we will continue to exercise vigilance and care in supporting all the staff and pupils directly or indirectly involved," he said.

The attacks were "not something that we are ashamed of", he added.

"It is part of our shared story. Difficult things happen in life, and we want to teach young people that we can talk openly about our fears and anxieties as they relate to difficult events in life.

"We will continue to foster a sensitive, balanced, honest, and courageous response to this tragic event."

'Intended to kill'

Devon and Cornwall Police welcomed the verdict on the "brutal and savage" assaults.

Det Insp Dave Egan said: "This was an unprovoked attack on two schoolboys as they slept in their beds.

"I believe that his intent was to kill."

He also thanked fellow pupils and paramedics who offered "life-saving assistance" to the casualties as well as investigators for their work, and the victims and their families "for their continuous support".

Helen Phillips, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the attacker, who had shown no remorse, had "naively thought that by concocting a story about sleepwalking", he could evade punishment.

She said the "defenceless boys" were lucky to be alive after the terrifying attack, and praised Mr Roffe-Silvester for confronting and stopping the attacker.