Roberts Buncis: Boy, 15, convicted of knife murder of friend
A teenage boy has been convicted of murdering his 12-year-old friend after luring him to woodland and attempting to decapitate him.
Roberts Buncis was found dead in the Fishtoft area of Boston on 12 December.
He had been stabbed more than 70 times in a "brutal and prolonged" attack and had suffered wounds "consistent with an attempt to remove the head".
A 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named due to his age, was found guilty after a trial at Lincoln Crown Court.
The court heard the defendant "intended at the very least to inflict serious violence" on his young victim because "he was a snitch".
The boy, who was 14 at the time of the attack, admitted manslaughter midway through his trial but denied murder.
However, the jury of nine men and three women took less than two hours to convict him.
Remanding the boy into custody, Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said he would pass sentence at a later date, explaining to the defendant it was "not a straightforward sentencing exercise".
The court heard Roberts was found on ground off Alcorn Green two days before his 13th birthday.
Pathologist Prof Guy Rutty, who examined his body, said he had identified 22 sites of injury across the neck, chest and abdomen, some containing up to 17 separate injuries.
As well as an attempt to decapitate Roberts he said there were also injuries consistent with someone "trying to remove the hand or fingers".
Prosecutors said the defendant used such force the tip of the knife broke off and was later found embedded in Roberts' skull.
'Lost control'
Giving evidence, the defendant claimed he had met up with his friend to hand over a stash of drugs for him to sell, but began arguing when he did not receive the £50 payment he was expecting.
The teenager claimed Roberts had taken the knife to the scene and he "lost control" when the youngster attempted to stab him.
He told the court he recalled stabbing his victim once in the neck, but did not remember 70 other blows.
Following the attack, the court heard the defendant ran home and tried to hide the knife and burn the clothes and gloves he was wearing.
He later messaged a friend saying "things went wrong" and "this wasn't supposed to go down like this".
'Utterly senseless act'
Prosecutor Mary Loram QC said the defendant had previously discussed a plan with Roberts to rob a shop in order to get money to set himself up as a drug dealer.
But, she said, Roberts described the proposal as "too mad" and refused to be involved.
She told the court the defendant apparently feared that Roberts would snitch on him.
Speaking after the trial, Det Ch Insp Richard Myszczyszyn, of East Midlands Special Operations Unit, described the killing as an "utterly senseless act".
"It's a tragedy that deeply affected the school and the local community, and one that will stay with all of us for a lifetime," he said.
"The level of violence, and that it involved children, makes it all the more difficult to comprehend."
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July 06, 2021 at 05:20AM
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-57724953
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