Owen Dunn: Family and friends 'galvanised' by trial

Owen Dunn, 18, was stabbed to death on 4 December 2022

When Graham Dunn's son Owen, 18, was fatally stabbed in Swindon as he cycled to meet his girlfriend in December 2022, it sent shockwaves around the local community.

Tyler Hunt, 18, and a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had attacked him with machetes while wearing balaclavas. As the teenagers begin their sentences for his murder, Owen's family and friends have spoken about how the revelation he was also carrying a knife at the time of the attack has motivated them to create positive changes for Swindon's young people.

"He was so cheeky and I have to wake up every day and I can't see him any more.

"I just loved him so much, it's just so sad," said Mr Dunn.

Although it was proven Owen never drew a weapon, his family want to help deter youths from the culture of carrying, or going equipped with, weapons either out of fear or out of the desire to achieve status among their peers.

"I just don't want kids to go out on the street thinking that they have got to carry knives," his dad said.

He asked: "They're in a gang with hoods on. Why? What what do they want to do it for?"

The charity Owen's World - set up in the wake of the teenager's death - has raised almost £17,000 through fundraising events.

The first bleed control kit installed by Owen's World with CEO Joanne Davis

Part of the money has been used to install 11 bleed control kits across Swindon.

"It's a big red steel box with a bag inside that contains everything that you need to stem a bleed - tourniquets, chest seals, pressure bandages, pens, scissors, gloves," says Joanne Davis, Owen's World's CEO.

"They're all registered with the ambulance service and the police. They'll have the code to open it and they can talk you through the instructions as well," she added.

The first bleed control kit was installed on the outside wall of Owen's local community hall in Penhill, Swindon, and includes a dedication to Owen on it, along with a photo of the teenager.

Now the trial of the pair accused of killing Owen is over, the charity said it is "galvanised" for 2024, when it plans to begin a rollout of other tailored youth projects.

The charity Owen's World launched in March

Ms Davis, a close friend of Owen's family, said: "It's the start of the youth projects and the youth club.

"We're also putting a programme together with the ambulance service and the police to go into schools and roll that out everywhere.

"It'll be an education programme with regards to carrying a knife, it's personalised to Owen as well.

"Doing this [work] is keeping everyone's minds busy and we're doing something for him [Owen] so his name's always going to be out there."

The guilty verdict left Owen's family feeling "numb", Ms Davis said.

Mourners at Owen's funeral wore red and black in memory of his love of Liverpool football club

"In court it was very surreal, it sounded like it took forever for the guilty words to come out. We were so relieved, I'm still in shock.

"We've seen and heard things we will never un-see and will never un-hear. Now it's the part where you sit there and it goes around and around in your head - it's very numb.

"Although the result is what we wanted, we've still not got Owen," she added.

Friends and family paid tribute to Owen on BBC Radio Wiltshire:.

"He was a massive animal lover," remembered Eilish Skeates, Owen's sister-in-law.

"We've got a Frenchie and he absolutely adored her. She still goes in his room looking for him.

"He was the life and soul, always laughing and always pulling the jokes. He was almost like the class clown, which was great," she added.

Owen's sister-in-law said her pet dog had been very attached to the teenager

Another friend remembered Owen as "one of those people who was really kind hearted".

"He was always there. If you ever needed a rant, he was there.

"You could call him two in the morning, seven at night - he'd always answer you and I loved the kid to pieces," they added.

Another recalled: "He was really nice and so funny, he was like the joker."

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