Owen Dunn murder trial: Witnesses 'saw machetes used'

Owen Dunn rode off a short distance on his bike before collapsing in the street

Two teenagers witnessed the knife blow which killed an 18-year-old, a court has been told.

Owen Dunn died on a Swindon street after being stabbed on 4 December 2022.

Tyler Hunt, 18, of Princess Cottages, Swindon, and a 15-year-old boy who cannot be named, both deny his murder.

During their trial at Bristol Crown Court, two witnesses, a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, said they saw two boys approach Mr Dunn with machetes before he collapsed.

On the third day of the murder trial, the court was played recorded police interviews with the two teenage witnesses, who then appeared in court to be cross-examined from behind screens.

The 13-year-old said she was in the street with two friends at the time of the attack and described seeing two boys with face coverings cycling before they stopped and got off their bikes when they saw Mr Dunn.

She told the court she saw one of the boys pull a machete out of his clothes and swing it at Mr Dunn, who then rode off on his bike a short distance before collapsing.

The jury was told Owen Dunn was attacked by two youths wearing balaclavas and armed with machetes

The witness said she knew it was a machete because she had seen pictures of them on the internet and she was so scared that she hid behind a bush with her friends.

The boys who had wielded the weapons cycled off past where the witnesses were hiding and said something to them as they passed, the court was told.

The girl and her friends then went over to Mr Dunn who was on the floor. Two adults had stopped to help and despite CPR by a member of the public, he died at the scene.

The defendants are on trial at Bristol Crown Court

The second witness, a 15-year-old boy, said he saw two boys jump off their bikes when they saw Mr Dunn approaching on a bike and shouted to him "Who are you?", before pulling machetes from their trousers and running towards him to attack him.

He told the court the boys wore a lot of black clothing with hoods and their faces were covered.

He said he saw them both swing knives at Mr Dunn, saying one missed, but the other caught him and he saw the victim's jacket tighten with the impact.

'Very scary'

The boy described the machetes as one silver and one black, both about 12 to 13 inches (30 to 33cm) long.

He said: "I was very shocked to see a weapon that big in the middle of the street and in the middle of the day", adding: "It was very scary when I realised they had stabbed him."

The boy said he saw what looked like a large cut and blood as Mr Dunn collapsed.

The court was previously told Mr Dunn was also wearing a balaclava and found to be carrying a machete, but none of the witnesses said he got it out.

Both defendants have pleaded guilty to being in possession of a knife, and admit to being at the scene, but claim they were acting in self-defence.

The trial is expected to last three weeks.

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