It was the middle of the night at the prestigious Blundell's School in Tiverton and all appeared calm as boarding children and staff slept in their beds. But at just before 1am, the quiet of the late spring night was shattered, and the future of three students was about to change forever.
It began when maths teacher Henry Roffe-Silvester was woken up by footsteps in a shared bedroom above his boarding house quarters, and went up to investigate. At the door to the dormitory, he was violently confronted by a hammer-welding student dressed only in his boxer shorts. Behind the attacker, blood was splattered across the walls and beds of the pitch-black room.
Inside, two students lay severely injured having been bludgeoned in their beds by the 16-year-old boy. On Friday, at Exeter Crown Court, following a trial, the boy, now aged 17, was found guilty of three counts of attempted murder after the jury heard how he set upon the two sleeping students and teacher.
The teenager, who will be sentenced in October, was allegedly on a mission to protect himself from a zombie apocalypse when he carried out the attack. “[He] struck me on the head with a hammer,” Mr Roffe-Silvester told the jury, as he described being attacked by the teenager and then stumbling backwards before being struck again, and then again.
Six devastating hammer blows were directed at his head by the student, before the teacher managed to grasp the weapon in the corridor outside. Walking back into the dormitory, the teacher then discovered in horror the two severely injured boys lying in their beds.
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin June 23, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye The Independent dergisinin June 23, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Russell gifted Austrian win after Verstappen collision
Mercedes’ George Russell celebrated a surprise Austrian Grand Prix win yesterday after Red Bull’s triple world champion Max Verstappen and McLaren’s Lando Norris collided late in the race while fighting for the lead.
Questions to answer over Djokovic's form and fitness
Alexander Zverev may have been missing something when he declared Wimbledon as the “most open Championships that we’ve had in 20 years”.
Spain turn on the style as Germany challenge awaits
Two sides who could scarcely have more different tactical ideas and playing styles. Two sides who have polar opposite histories, in international footballing terms, too.
Southgate gets lastminute lifeline to redeem himself
There was a minute left to run on Gareth Southgate’s reign, the clock ticking down on a dismal tournament that seemed a demoralising end to the second-finest tenure of any England manager.
Bellingham heroics saves England from sorry defeat
The sort of moment that makes it all worth it, and maybe helps England find their true worth as a team.
Crowe's shockingly good set adds the feelgood factor
The Gladiator’ star charged enthusiastically through covers of Dire Straits and Johnny Cash, along with some original songs, on the Acoustic Stage. Louis Chilton was charmed
ACES OF SPADES
Adele Cardani takes us on a tour of six of the loveliest green spaces you can visit, from the garden of England to up North
THE EGO HAS LANDED
In a world of social media and selfies, it can be tempting to diagnose everyone with narcissistic traits. Helen Coffey asks experts about the reality of narcissism in its different forms
'We can't let ourselves feel hopeless about the climate'
As the general election looms, Mark Beaumont talks climate activism with Simon Pegg, Sophie Duker and Will McCallum on location in the Greenpeace Field at Glastonbury Festival
US to remove $320m Gaza aid pier until aid flows again
The pier built by the US military to bring aid to Gaza, at a cost of $320m, is being removed to protect it from the weather – and officials say they are considering not reinstalling it unless aid begins flowing out into the population again.
