Student guilty of attempted murder after attack on Devon Hammer

A pupil at a Devon private school who claimed he was sleepwalking when he attacked two sleeping housemates and a head teacher with hammers has been found guilty of three counts of attempted murder.

The attacks occurred in the early hours of June 9, 2023 at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Exeter Crown Court was told.

The two roommates, aged 15 and 16 at the time, suffered serious injuries and the caretaker, Henry Roffe-Silvester, suffered six wounds to the head.

The boy, who was 16 at the time of the attacks and whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, told the court that he was sleepwalking and dreaming when the attacks took place.

He claimed he had the hammers to protect himself from a “zombie apocalypse.”

After nearly eight days of deliberation and a nine-week trial, the jury delivered its majority verdict.

The court heard from students, teachers, police, a consulting forensic pathologist, paramedics, sleep experts and the defendant’s mother.

The defense had argued that it was a case of “textbook sleepwalking,” while the prosecution said the incident was planned and that the events of that night were not the actions of a sleepwalker.

The verdict will be announced on October 18 following the submission of psychiatric reports.

The court heard that the boy armed himself with three claw hammers and waited until the two boys were asleep before attacking them.

The two students were sleeping in hut beds in one of the co-ed school’s boarding houses when the accused climbed in and attacked them shortly before 1 a.m.

Mr Roffe-Silvester was awakened by noises coming from the dormitory and went to investigate.

When he entered the room where the attack had taken place, he saw a silhouette standing in the room, which then turned to him and repeatedly hit him on the head with a hammer.

Another student heard Mr Roffe-Silvester flee the bedroom screaming and swearing and dialling 999 because he believed there was an intruder.

The two boys were discovered in their beds a few minutes later, the court was told.

They suffered skull fractures, injuries to the ribs and spleen, a ruptured lung and internal bleeding.

Both are living with the “long-term consequences” of the attack but have no memory of the incident, the jury said.

During the trial, prosecutor James Dawes KC told jurors that the boy was “obsessed with killing, murderers and killing children.”

He said the student had been using his iPad “up until the moment before the attack.”

However, an expert told the jury that the boy may have been sleepwalking.

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

Relatives of the defendant also reported to the court cases of sleepwalking in their family.

Another expert, Dr. John O’Reilly, said he did not believe the boy was sleeping because a sleepwalker does not commit violence, which is triggered by noise or touch.

During his testimony, the boy, now 17, told the jury that he could remember going to sleep before the attack and then seeing the dormitory covered in blood.

“I knew something really bad had happened and everyone was looking at me,” he said.

“I couldn’t remember anything, so my only rational thought was that I was sleepwalking.”

He said he kept two hammers next to his bed “for protection” from the “zombie apocalypse.”

The boy added: “I am terribly sorry to all three of them for what I did to them.”

“I am very sorry for everyone, their families and themselves.”

Blundell’s headteacher Bart Wielenga said in a statement after the incident that he was “incredibly proud of our school community and its response to circumstances that were deeply shocking and totally unprecedented.”

He said the lives of the two students attacked were “undoubtedly saved” by the “remarkable” intervention of fellow students and Mr Roffe-Silvester, as well as the paramedics and surgeons who treated them.

The school is “grateful for the remarkable recovery of all victims,” he said.

“We are aware that psychological wounds sometimes take longer to heal than physical ones. That is why we will continue to vigilantly and carefully support all employees and students who are directly or indirectly affected,” he said.

The attacks are “nothing we are ashamed of,” he added.

“It’s part of our shared history. Difficult things happen in life and we want to teach young people that we can talk openly about our fears and worries when they are related to difficult events in life.

“We will continue to promote a sensitive, balanced, honest and courageous response to this tragic event.”

Devon and Cornwall Police welcomed the verdict on the “brutal and cruel” attacks.

Det Insp Dave Egan said: “This was an unprovoked attack on two schoolboys while they were sleeping in their beds.”

“I believe his intention was to kill.”

He also thanked classmates and paramedics who had provided “life-saving assistance” to the injured, as well as investigators for their work and the victims and their families “for their continued support.”

Helen Phillips, prosecuting, said the attacker showed no remorse and “naively believed he could avoid punishment by making up a story about sleepwalking”.

She said the “defenceless boys” were lucky to be alive after this horrific attack and praised Mr Roffe-Silvester for confronting and stopping the attacker.