Teen Who Stabbed 12-Year-Old Friend 70 Times And Attempted To Behead Him Convicted

A 15-year-old boy who stabbed his friend more than 70 times and attempted to behead him in a "brutal and prolonged" attack has been convicted of murder.

The accused, whose name has not been revealed due to his age, and his 12-year-old friend, identified as Roberts Buncis, met in woodland near Boston in Lincolnshire, U.K. for a drug deal on Dec. 12, 2020, reported BBC News.

The two got into a heated argument, during which the accused brutally attacked the victim with a knife. The accused stabbed the 12-year-old boy several times in his neck, torso and head. He reportedly stabbed the victim with so much ferocity that the knife broke, leaving part of the weapon embedded in his skull. He then attempted to decapitate the victim and amputate his hand.

After the attack, the accused ran home and burned the knife as well as the clothes and gloves he had worn at the time of the crime. The body of the victim was found in the woods days later.

Following an investigation, the accused was taken into custody. During the trial, the Lincoln Crown Court heard that the defendant had "intended at the very least to inflict serious violence" on the victim, Sky News said in a report.

The accused told the court the victim had brought the knife to the scene and had attempted to attack him with it first. According to the teen, it was then that he "lost control," grabbed the knife from the victim and stabbed the boy 70 times.

However, the jury of nine men and three women concluded that the accused was "motivated by anger and tried to punish the deceased rather than losing self-control."

The accused was convicted of murdering his friend Monday, reported BBC News.

Speaking after the trial, investigative officer Richard Myszczyszyn described the murder as an "utterly senseless act" and said, "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."

"The level of violence, and that it involved children, makes it all the more difficult to comprehend," he added.