Boy accused of hammer attack at public school tells court he was sleepwalking

A student accused of carrying out a hammer attack at a public school told a jury he had no memory of the incident and was sleepwalking at the time.

The court heard the 16-year-old was wearing only his boxers when he attacked two boys and a caretaker at Blundell’s School in Tiverton, Devon.

Exeter Crown Court heard the teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, had armed himself with three claw hammers.

The teenager admits he carried out the attacks but says he is not guilty of attempted murder because he was sleepwalking.

When he testified on Friday, he told jurors he remembered going to sleep on the evening of June 8 last year.

Kerim Fuad KC, who represented the boy, asked him: “What do you remember next?”

The boy replied, “I remember being in the room. The room was full of blood. What I could see was blood. I have not heard anything.

“I remember walking into the hallway.”

Mr. Fuad asked, “Do you know that you have sleepwalked in the past?”

The boy replied “I did” and told the court that his mother found him at the bottom of a staircase in their home about 10 years ago.

Mr Fuad asked the boy what he remembered after the incident at Blundell’s School, which happened just after 1am on June 9.

The boy said: “I knew something really bad had happened and everyone was looking at me.

“I didn’t remember doing anything, so the only sensible thought I had was that I was sleepwalking.”

The boy described himself as “scared and anxious” after being arrested and taken into custody in a police car.

When asked why he answered “no comment” to questions during police interviews, he replied that this was on the advice of his lawyer.

The boy told the court he kept two hammers next to his bed “for protection,” as well as a screwdriver and a Swiss Army knife, which he also had in his room.

Mr Fuad asked: “What did you need protection from?”

The boy replied, “The zombie apocalypse.”

He told the jury he had seen depictions of zombies in films and television series such as “The Walking Dead.”

Mr. Fuad asked: “Did you think the apocalypse was real?”

The boy said, “Yes, I did.”

Mr. Fuad asked: “Do you think it is real now, today?”

The boy replied, “Yes, I do.”

When asked what a zombie apocalypse was, the boy replied: “The end of the world.”

He told jurors he had spoken to friends about his fears of zombies, but “they might have taken it as a joke.”

Mr. Fuad asked: “Why did you need protection from them?”

The boy replied, “Zombies are vicious creatures.”

The jury was previously told that the two boys were sleeping in hut beds in one of the school’s boarding houses when the defendant climbed on top of them and attacked them.

Caretaker Henry Roffe-Silvester, who was sleeping in his own quarters, was awakened by noises coming from the boarding house and went to investigate.

As he entered the bedroom he saw a silhouette standing in the room who turned to him and hit him repeatedly on the head with a hammer, the court heard.

Both boys suffered skull fractures as well as injuries to their ribs, spleen, a punctured lung and internal bleeding.

Mr Fuad asked the defendant whether he intended to kill Mr Roffe-Silvester and the two boys. He replied, “No.”

The boy said: “I am terribly sorry to all three people because of what I did to them.

“I’m very sorry for everyone, the families and themselves.”

Mr. Fuad asked: “Were you awake when you did these things?”

The boy replied, “No.”

Mr Roffe-Silvester suffered six blows to the head.

The now 17-year-old defendant denies three charges of attempted murder.

The process continues.