June 15, 2021 4.55 pm This story is over 32 months old

Roberts Buncis, 12, savagely killed over snitch fears, court hears

Another boy was attacked for being a “snitch” five days before

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.