Man killed friend in 'frenzied attack' after looking up neck anatomy online, court hears

• Richard Morgan reports from Cardiff Crown Court

A man killed his best friend in a “frenzied attack” hours after researching neck anatomy online, a court has heard.

Dylan Thomas, 24, is accused of murdering William Bush, 23, who died on December 24 last year in Cardiff. Mr Bush suffered 37 separate injuries in the attack which, the court heard, was inflicted by two separate knives.

Thomas, previously of Llandaff, admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at a hearing last week but denies murder.

He appeared before Cardiff Crown Court by video link from a psychiatric hospital on Wednesday.

On the opening day of the trial at Cardiff Crown Court, the jury were told that Thomas and Mr Bush had met as schoolboys at Christ College Brecon.

They later moved in to a house owned by the defendant’s grandparents on Chapel Street in the Llandaff area of Cardiff.

Mr Bush, who was 23 when he died, was described as “well liked and popular, athletic and a keen golfer”, and was said to be looking forward to starting a new job in 2024 and moving in with his girlfriend.

Dylan Thomas was described by prosecutor Greg Bull KC as “something of a loner” with “few friends.”

“He relied heavily on William Bush for support”, Mr Bull told the court, with Mr Bush said to have given Thomas - who couldn’t drive - regular lifts in his car.

But in the months leading up to the attack, the court heard, the “dynamics” of the relationship between the two men changed.

In October 2023, Mr Bush informed his girlfriend that the defendant had told him: “I thought about killing you and I wondered what would happen if I did certain things.”

Mr Bush's girlfriend told police that he had taken the comment seriously, barricading his door while he slept.

Mr Bull described events leading up to the incident, saying "screams of horror" coming from the house during the attack could be heard from the street.

Mr Bull told the court that in the days before the attack, Dylan Thomas went to his grandparents’ house in the Vale of Glamorgan for Christmas.

But after appearing normal during a family lunch, the defendant seemed “unable to settle” later in the day. The following night, the court was told, Thomas carried out online searches of the anatomy of the jugular vein in the neck.

In the early hours of the morning, he sent text messages to William Bush saying “I need to see you before I go” and “What time are you leaving?”, before trying to book an Uber taxi to take him back to the property the two shared.

The next morning, Mr Bull told the jury, the defendant persuaded his grandmother to drive him to Cardiff because, he said, he wanted to walk his dog.

They arrived at the property at 11:15am. William Bush was still there ahead of setting off to spend Christmas with his family in Brecon.

Mr Bull said: “The prosecution say Dylan Thomas entered the property, armed himself with a kitchen knife and and a smaller knife, and went upstairs to Mr Bush’s bedroom on the second floor.

“The prosecution case is that [Mr Bush] was attacked from behind at first. If [Mr Bush] had seen Dylan Thomas coming he’d have been easily able to overpower him.

“Dylan Thomas chased William Bush down the stairs until Mr Bush sustained the fatal injury and collapsed on the patio.”

The court heard that the victim had suffered 37 separate knife injuries, including a laceration to his neck and a deep wound to the back of his neck.

There were also injuries to his chest and abdomen, and a total of 20 wounds to his hands - consistent, the jury was told, with “defence” injuries. Blood marks were found on the walls and stairs of the three bedroom house.

Paramedics were unable to save Mr Bush’s life and the cause of death was later given as “multiple stab wounds to the neck and trunk".

The court was shown police body-worn camera footage of the moment officers arrived to at the scene, showing Dylan Thomas with his hands covered in blood.

Thomas is seen telling officers that he’s been stabbed. An officer asks him: “Where’s the person who’s done this?” Thomas replies: “He’s dead.”

The defendant was taken to the University Hospital of Wales for a treatment, where, the court heard, he continued to claim that William Bush had started the violence, saying Mr Bush had “gone mental” after smoking cannabis and attacked him.

He told another officer: “He was having one of his episodes. It’s been happening for months.”

Mr Bull, for the prosecution, told the jury that the defence would rely on the evidence of a forensic psychiatrist from Ashworth High Secure Hospital - where Dylan Thomas is being held - that the defendant was suffering from psychosis at the time of the attack.

But Mr Bull said that the court would hear from another psychiatric expert whose view was “that the defendant knew what he was doing.”

“Taken as a whole, the evidence shows a picture of clear thinking that shows an intention to inflict really serious harm on Mr Bush.”

Thomas denies murder and is expected to defend himself against the charge on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The trial continues.

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