June 23, 2021 2.05 pm This story is over 33 months old

Roberts Buncis murder accused, 14, had multiple knives in bedroom, court hears

The defence case begins next week
Robert Buncis, 12, was found dead with knife wounds near his home in Fishtoft.

A 14-year-old boy’s response to being arrested for murder was to swear and tell police “I want my solicitor”, a jury was told on Wednesday.

The jury at Lincoln Crown Court heard that police identified the teenager as a suspect from messages found on the mobile phone of the dead boy Roberts Buncis.

Prosecutor Sally Hobson, reading a series of agreed pieces of evidence to the jury, said: “It was established Roberts Buncis had been in contact with the defendant between 2am and 3.14am on December 12.

“They (police officers) discovered there was an arrangement to meet in a wooded area regarding a purported drug deal.”

From the funeral of Roberts Buncis. | Photo: John Aron

She said that as a result of the information police went to the home of the defendant at 2.15 am on December 13 and arrested him on suspicion of murder.

Miss Hobson told the jury: “The defendant’s words were to the effect of “What the f**k. I want my solicitor”.

She said the 14-year-old was handcuffed and taken to the Boston Police custody suite but later taken to Pilgrim Hospital for treatment to an injury to his right hand.

Roberts Buncis and his dad Edgar. | Photo: Lincolnshire Police

At the hospital the boy refused to tell doctors how he had been injured but subsequently told a radiologist he had cut himself with a knife.

Miss Hobson said that when the defendant’s bedroom was searched officers found some small cannabis plants growing inside the room. A number of knives were also found.

Miss Hobson, said: “A small kitchen knife was found under the defendant’s bed. A hammer was found inside a black bag in the bedroom.

“There was a small kitchen knife behind the bedside cabinet. There was a home-made knife inside the bedside cabinet. There was a black handled knife concealed within a sock in a desk in the bedroom.”

A blood-stained knife was found in the garden during a search carried out by a police dog. The tip of the knife was missing and testing on the blood revealed the DNA of both Roberts and the defendant. A partially burned Nike jacket was also found in the garden.

The 14 year old defendant, who cannot be identified because of a court order, denies the murder of Roberts Buncis.

The prosecution say that the 14 year old lured Roberts’ out of his home in the middle of the night and then stabbed him “again and again”. Roberts’ body was found on the morning of December 12, 2020 in a wooded area near to Alcorn Green in Fishtoft.

The trial was adjourned today and will resume on Monday when the defence case is due to begin.

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