Blundell's trial: Schoolboy who attacked pupils and teacher found guilty of attempted murder

A public schoolboy who attacked two sleeping students and a teacher with hammers at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon, has been found guilty of three counts attempted murder at Exeter Crown Court.

A 17-year-old has been found guilty on three counts of attempted murder in connection to an incident at a boarding school in Devon.

The teenager, who was 16 at the time and cannot be named for legal reasons, was on trial after attacking two sleeping students and a teacher at Blundell's School in Tiverton.

Returning on Friday 21 June, the jury found the defendant guilty of three counts of attempted murder after 40 hours of deliberation.

During the two-month trial, Exeter Crown Court heard the boy was wearing just his boxer shorts and was “on a mission” to protect himself from a zombie apocalypse when he carried out the attack on 9 June last year.

The teenager claimed he was sleepwalking when he seriously injured the two boys and left housemaster Henry Roffe-Silvester with wounds to his head.

The jury previously heard how two boys were asleep in cabin-style beds in one of the school’s boarding houses when the defendant climbed up and attacked them shortly before 1am.

He had armed himself with three claw hammers and waited for the two boys to be asleep before launching the assault.

Their housemaster, who was asleep in his own quarters, was awoken by noises coming from the boarding house and went to investigate.

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

In interviews recorded by the police and played to the jury, one of the victims told officers he and the defendant had been friends in the previous academic year but there was a “complete change” after the summer holidays.

Over Christmas or in the spring term he sent him “unkind” messages, the boy told police.

“One I can remember… he said, ‘F***ing die’,” the boy said.

“I said to him not to say that because it is not very nice. There was a complete change during the summer holidays because before that he was nice.”

The boy said, on one occasion, the defendant took pictures of him as he changed his clothes, which he asked him to delete.

On other occasions the defendant did not “respect” the boy’s belongings and would damage them while he was away, the court heard.

“There were sometimes when he could be a normal person and just nice,” the boy told police.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Cutts said she would adjourn sentencing for the preparation of pre-sentence reports, including a psychiatric report, and would pass sentence on 18 October.

“I don’t intend to sentence today, further reports are needed,” she said.

“I would wish a psychiatric report. That needs to be a court-ordered report.

“I can say that inquiries have been made to find somebody who would be able to write a report. It has not been straightforward because of the defendant’s age.”

James Dawes KC, prosecuting, previously told the jury both boys suffered skull fractures, as well as injuries to their ribs, spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.

Mr Dawes said: “Blood went everywhere. You may think that whoever does that intends to kill the person they are attacking.

"They were sleeping at the time and astonishingly they both survived these attacks.

“Their survival has nothing to do with the defendant and his actions but everything to do with the speed at which the 999 call was made by a boy at school and the astonishing skill of the paramedics who arrived and the skilful work of the doctors and surgeons who saved their lives at the hospital.”

Mr Dawes said both boys are living with the “long-term consequences” of the attack but have no memory of the incident.

Following the verdict, Blundell's headteacher Bart Wielenga sent a letter to the school community.

He wrote: "The trial ended today with Guilty verdicts on all three counts of attempted murder and I wanted to write to you with our immediate response.

"It concludes a challenging year and I hope that this outcome will bring a degree of closure for all those involved.

"I remain tremendously proud of our school community and its response to circumstances that have been profoundly shocking and entirely unprecedented.

"No school would ever wish something like this, but the conduct of pupils, staff, parents and the wider Blundell’s community throughout the past year has only been encouraging and reassuring. We have much to be grateful for.

"The trial highlighted the remarkable actions of the boys in [the house]. I also want to commend Mr. and Mrs. Roffe-Silvester not only for their actions on the night of the incident but also for their ongoing leadership in the ensuing months.

"Their efforts, and those of several senior pupils, combined with the swift response of the emergency services and the exceptional skill of the surgeons, undoubtedly saved the boys' lives.

"You may have read the press reports on the trial referring to weapons and locked drawers. I want to reiterate that they were tools and not weapons (many items could be used as weapons) and that locked drawers are part of the ‘National Minimum Standards that boarding schools must meet in order to safeguard and protect children in their care’.

"It is a regulatory requirement to give pupils a lockable facility.

"We continue to be thankful for the remarkable recovery made by all the victims and those affected by the event.

"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.

"I have stressed to pupils in numerous assemblies over the past year that this incident is not something that we are ashamed of. 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."

Devon and Cornwall Police also responded to the verdict.

Senior Investigating Officer detective inspector Dave Egan said: “We welcome today’s verdict. This was an unprovoked attack on two schoolboys as they slept in their beds.

"The assaults were both brutal and savage and I believe that his intent was to kill.

“Our detectives worked tirelessly to prove that the offender had indeed been fully conscious when committing this horrendous attack - which had been pre planned.

“I want to thank the victims and their families for their continuous support throughout this trial and to the fellow pupils and paramedics who were present on the night of the attack and offered life-saving assistance to the casualties.

“I would like to extend my thanks to the investigation and prosecution teams for their dedication to this case which has led to a guilty verdict today.

“We now await the sentencing outcome which will take place on 18 October 2024.”

Blundell's School is an independent co-education boarding and day school in Tiverton. The full boarding fees costs upwards of £45,000 a year and nearly £28,000 for a day student.

The defendant will be sentenced on 18 October 2024.