Owen Dunn 'murder': Teens 'searched Swindon before ambush'

Owen Dunn was stabbed to death on December 4, 2022, suffering a knife wound that a coroner said even a skilled surgeon would not have been able to save him from, Bristol Crown Court heard on Tuesday.

Two teenagers, 18-year-old Tyler Hunt and a 15-year-old who cannot be named for legal reasons, have pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter, but both admitted to carrying a bladed item.

The youngest also admitted that he caused the fatal wound to Mr Dunn, but both of the accused said they were acting in self-defence. 

Floral tributes were laid in Mazurek Way (Image: Newsquest)

But presenting his case to a jury at Bristol Crown Court on Tuesday as the trial got underway, prosecution barrister Michael Burrows KC painted a picture of a calculated hunt throughout the town. 

Hunt, who he said was wearing an electronic tag, was spotted on CCTV and by witnesses with the unnamed alleged accomplice "searching through Swindon" for an hour before then laying in wait to ambush an unsuspecting Mr Dunn, who was on his way to see his girlfriend Melissa Beeton.

They were wearing balaclavas and carrying sheathed machetes, Mr Burrows said.

The jury was told that one witness was at a cash point when the two are believed to have cycled behind him. The witness claimed that one of them said to the other "no, no, that’s not the nitty we’re looking for".

After this, the 15-year-old is said to have received a phone call, before they headed to Mazurek Way, where Mr Dunn was found fatally wounded.

Mr Burrows said: “A witness saw the second cyclist throw his bike into the road blocking the path of the victim, the other stood in the path of Owen’s natural direction and reverse sliced the knife toward him.” 

The court heard that Owen was also wearing a balaclava and did have a machete on his person, but witnesses said he never held it and a paramedic performing first aid said they found it still ‘sheathed’. 

Another witness account said, according to the prosecutor: “The boy just riding, he hasn’t done anything wrong, nothing was said, they just did it.

“The two cyclists got off their bikes and pulled out a machete and hit him, they both had a knife, one did a swipe motion, hit the boy under the arm and was ‘just gone’.”

Witnesses described seeing Mr Dunn ride off after the attack before eventually collapsing on Torun Way because of his injuries. 

Members of the public tried to give the 18-year-old victim first aid and also performed CPR but were unable to save him, with paramedics confirming his death just half an hour later. 

A coroner said that the wound was so severe - puncturing Owen’s chest and lung, before hitting his heart - "that even a highly skilled surgeon being at the scene wouldn’t have saved him".

After the attack, the defendants allegedly shouted "what’s the quickest way out of north?" before cycling off at speed.

Opening the case on Tuesday afternoon, prosecutors say the defendants were then seen at the Eastern Flyer on Ocotal Way 18 minutes later where they remained in a wooded area for half an hour before leaving on bikes, returning on foot and being driven away in a car.

It is claimed that the pair disposed of the weapons at this time, although Wiltshire Police have been unable to locate them almost a year on from the incident.

Mr Burrows said that the tag on Hunt documented his journey from 12.07pm all the way until 1.29pm, when Mr Dunn was attacked, and then afterwards to Ocotal Way at 2.38pm.

He said this corresponded with the CCTV images and witness statements.

Both Hunt and the 15-year-old were arrested in March, where they denied any involvement in the killing of Owen Dunn in initial statements provided to the police, the court heard.

The trial continues and is expected to last up to three weeks.