Devon public schoolboy who claimed he was sleepwalking during a hammer attack on students and teacher has been convicted

A public schoolboy who claimed he was sleepwalking when he tried to kill two students and a teacher with a claw hammer attack has been jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 12 years.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was wearing only his boxer shorts when he repeatedly punched his students as they slept in one of the boarding houses at Blundell’s School in Tiverton. Devonin June last year.

The boy gave evidence at his trial and said he kept two hammers by his bed “for protection” against a “zombie apocalypse”.

He claimed at his trial that he was sleepwalking when he hit the boys, but police said after the sentencing that the attack had been “months in the planning”.

The teenager, who was 16 at the time of the attack, was armed with three claw hammers and had waited until the two boys had fallen asleep before climbing into their cabin beds and beating them shortly before 1am, the court heard.

Both boys suffered skull fractures, rib and spleen injuries, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.

A prosecutor said the two were “lucky to be alive.”

Maths teacher Henry Roffe-Silvester was asleep in his own room when he was woken by noises from the boarding house and went to investigate.

He told a jury he saw a silhouetted figure standing in front of him in the room, who then turned and hit him in the head six times with a hammer.

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

A few minutes later the two boys were discovered in their bed.

Both live with the ‘long-term consequences’ of the attack but have no memory of it, Exeter Crown Court heard.

The defendant’s claim that he was sleepwalking meant he hoped to be found not guilty of three counts of attempted murder by reason of insanity.

But he was found guilty of all three charges in June after a ten-week trial and was convicted on Friday.

During the trial, prosecutor James Dawes KC told jurors: “The investigation has revealed an obsession the defendant had with one of the boys, an obsession with hammers as weapons, and an obsession with murders and murderers and killing of children.

“He had a motive, that he had planned something like this, thought about it beforehand and he was awake.

‘He was using his iPad up until the moment before the attack.

“Mr Roffe-Silvester said he thought the defendant appeared ‘on a mission’ and then his face and body relaxed, and he sat calmly and slumped on his feet, crouched against the wall.”

Read more:
Can you kill someone while you sleep?
Woman sues after case is dismissed over sexsomnia claims

One expert told the jury that the boy was sleepwalking.

Dr. Mark Pressman subsequently described the attack on Mr Roffe-Silvester as “a textbook example of sleepwalking violence” and said there were no features in the case that were inconsistent with sleepwalking.

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

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

During his trial, the boy said: ‘I feel terribly sorry for all three individuals because of what I did to them.

“I feel sorry for everyone, the families and themselves.”

After sentencing, Detective Inspector Dave Egan said: “This was an unprovoked attack on two schoolboys as they slept in their beds. The attacks were both vicious and brutal and I have no doubt that his intention was to kill.

“Our detectives worked tirelessly to prove that the perpetrator was indeed fully conscious when he committed this horrific attack, which had been suspected for months.”

The family of one of the teenagers said: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped in our son’s recovery – from the school community to the paramedics and doctors and surgeons who provided excellent care while he was in hospital. the hospital was. We are eternally grateful for your interventions.”

A relative of the other boy said: “I look forward to my family moving on now that the trial is over, and I hope my son will continue his recovery and have a good future ahead of him.”

(c) Sky News 2024: Devon public schoolboy who claimed he was sleepwalking during hammer attack on