A 14-year-old schoolboy used such force to stab a 12-year-old that the tip of the knife blade was left embedded in his victim’s skull, a murder trial jury was told today.
The older boy is alleged to have lured the 12-year-old out of his home in the early hours and then carried out a sustained “brutal” and “savage” attack.
Roberts Buncis suffered stab wounds all over his body including a serious injury to his neck, the jury at Lincoln Crown Court was told.
Tributes left for Roberts Buncis, 12, near Alcorn Green in Fishtoft, where his body was found. | Photo: John Aron
The jury heard that Roberts was stabbed “again and again” and it appeared that the 14-year-old had also tried to cut off one of Roberts’ hands during a prolonged attack.
Mary Loram QC, prosecuting, said that the two boys had apparently been friends and were part of the same Facebook Messenger group.
Flowers have been placed in honour of Roberts. | Photo: John Aron
Earlier the defendant appeared to be encouraging Roberts to sell drugs for him, she said.
The defendant, she said, had also discussed whether Roberts would snitch.
Roberts’ body was found in a wooded area near to a footpath in the village of Fishtoft on the morning of December 12, 2020.
People gathered on the streets for Roberts’ funeral. | Photo: John Aron
Miss Loram said: “He (Roberts) had been subjected to a brutal and prolonged attack with a knife.
“In short he was stabbed to the head, to the back, neck, torso, legs and arms and those injuries inevitably led to his death.
“You will not be asked to look at any photographs, but you will be looking at a detailed re-creation of them so you can see for yourself the savagery and the extent of the attack upon him.
“We can see repeated injuries caused by a knife to the back. It is difficult to see how these could ever have been caused in self defence.
“The wound to the neck speaks for itself. The injuries to one of the hands was such that it looked as if, in the attack, the defendant had tried to cut it off.
“When the knife was found the tip was missing. The tip of the knife was found still lodged in his (Roberts) skull. He had been struck with such force as to break the tip of that knife.
“This was no instant reaction. To cause these amount of injuries must have taken time. It was truly a sustained attack and could never sensibly have been suggested to have been done in self defence.
“The person accused of killing Roberts is this defendant who is 14-years-old. He also lived in Boston and it seems was a friend of Roberts or at least seemed to be.
“This was a planned attack on Roberts. Maybe he (the defendant) didn’t intend to take it as far as he did. Maybe he did need to. However, we say it was planned by the defendant and Roberts was lured out of his house to be attacked.”
| Photo: John Aron
Miss Loram said that afterwards the defendant messaged another 14-year-old saying “Things went wrong” and “This wasn’t supposed to go down like this”.
Messages found on Roberts’ phone led to the defendant being identified as a prime suspect once the body was discovered.
As a result the home and garden where the defendant lived were searched.
Miss Loram said “In that garden under a pot was a knife. On that knife was the blood of Roberts and also of the defendant.
“A Nike top had been partially burned. There were some latex gloves. These had (the defendant’s) blood on them. That must have been as a result of a significant cut he had to his hand. There was also Roberts’ DNA on those gloves.”
Police identified the victim as Roberts Buncis, 12.
Miss Loram told the jury that the defendant himself had cuts to his hand and following his arrest he was taken to hospital for treatment. When he was interviewed he made no comment to questions put to him.
The prosecutor told the jury that the defendant and another teenager had previously discussed attacking another boy who was accused of being a snitch. The lad involved was subsequently attacked as he waited at a bus stop in an incident five days before Roberts’ death.
Miss Loram said that messages exchanged at the time showed that the defendant “has a tendency towards gratuitous violence with no significant trigger”.
The other boy involved in that attack messaged the defendant saying: “Let’s hope Rob doesn’t snitch”.
The defendant responded “Rob’s a liability” which was met with the response “If he snitch – smack time”.
| Photo: John Aron
Later the other boy messaged the defendant saying “Rob’s dead. Countdown seven days, one hour eight minutes, 12 seconds,” with the countdown ending at midnight on December 13.
Miss Loram told the jury that just days after the concern was raised that Roberts was a snitch he was killed by the defendant.
She added that the defendant also appeared to be encouraging Roberts to sell drugs for him.
In a message exchange the defendant said “We are getting 3.5 to sell in a week. See if you can handle it” to which Roberts replied: “Alright that sounds easy”.
The 14 year old denies the murder of Roberts Buncis on 12 December 2020.
The trial continues Wednesday.
The Lincolnite welcomes your views. All comments are reactively-moderated and must obey the house rules. Please stay on topic and be respectful of other readers.
A washing machine drum, four shopping trolleys and 120 glass bottles were among the items retrieved from the Sincil Bank area on Saturday by a dedicated team of volunteers.
Sincil Bank Rivercare and litter pick long-standing volunteers, and new faces, met up in the warm weather to remove an assortment of litter and larger items from the streets around Sincil Bank on Saturday, August 6.
The following items were found during August’s litter pick (with thanks to Stuart Benn who collates these figures at each monthly Litterpick):
Washing Machine Drum,
Flood Sign
Tesco Shopping Trolley x4
Pieces of Polystyrene x5
Card Board Boxes x7
Car Engine Panel
Pillow
TV Monitor
Concrete Block
Refrigerator Drawers x3
Cat Litter Tray
Car Wheel Trim
Kiddies Shoe
Trainer
Flip Flop
Wine Glass
Large Traffic Cone
Piece of Carpet
Safety Boots x 2
Trainers x2
Oil Bottles x2
Trolley Wheel
Trolley Bag
This over and above the 47 bags collected, which contained the following Bottles Glass x 120, Bottles Plastic x 105, Cans x 115.
Mucking in because they care. | Photo: Nick Rawsthorne
Nick Rawsthorne, who was involved in the project, said: “I was also able to monitor the local wildlife around the area – which has also greatly benefitted from the effort of our lovely volunteers.”
“A big thank you to all those who work so hard, both to keep our lovely city nice and clean, and also to show that community and friendships matter so much to each one of us.”
The next litter pick is at 9.30am for a 10am start on Saturday 17 September at the corner of Sausthorpe Street and Sincil Bank, and volunteers are asked to message Barbara Gooding if attending.
Lincolnshire residents are being urged to take care to avoid devastating fires, as the hot dry conditions continue. The latest figures for the county show that during April – July there were 607 wildfires – 314 of these in July.
Last year, the same 4-month period saw 286 wildfires. These were fires involving:
Balers, tractors and combine harvesters
Farm fires including crop and straw bale fires
Grassland and hedge fires
Forests and woodlands
Refuse, including where bonfires have needed extinguishing.
Chief Fire Officer for Lincolnshire, Mark Baxter, said: “The weather continues to be hot and dry with no signs of this changing in the coming weeks. We are asking the public to please consider whether any kind of fire outdoors is appropriate – in most cases they are not.
“We would ask people not to have campfires or barbeques in the countryside. At home barbeques should only be used on a designated hard-standing area away from fences, sheds, buildings or hedges.
“It’s disappointing that, we are still seeing residents having bonfires in their gardens, which has led to several serious fires, despite continued warnings.
“This increase in call outs is being seen across the country but puts a strain on both our Control Room staff and our crews – all of whom have coped incredibly well during this busy time.”
Other advice to avoid wildfires includes:
· never throw cigarette ends out of car windows and always make sure cigarettes are fully extinguished and cool before you dispose of them.
· sunlight shining through glass can start fires outdoors – take glass bottles/jars home or put them in a covered bin.
Mark added: “The service has recently seen more deliberate fires occurring in small pockets across the county too. These incidents put a further strain on fire and rescue resources, can easily escalate and cause serious damage, and mean fire crews could be delayed getting to other incidents.”
If you have a child or young person who you worry is setting fires or has an unhealthy fascination with fire, you can refer them to the Firesetters Intervention Scheme.
Whatsapp
