Boy, 15, who murdered 12-year-old friend he tried to decapitate is jailed for minimum of 16 years

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A 15-year-old schoolboy has been unmasked by a judge for murdering his 12-year-old friend Roberts Buncis – before trying to decapitate him in brutal attack.

Killer child Marcel Grzeszcz can now be named after a ruling from a High Court judge at Lincoln Crown Court, where he was sentenced to 16 years today.

Grzeszcz stabbed Roberts more than 70 times on ground in Fishtoft, near Boston, Lincolnshire, on December 12 last year, just two days before his 13th birthday.

He was found with knife injuries to his right side, shoulders, arms and three severe stab wounds to his head with the tip of the blade lodged in his skull. 

Young murderer Grzeszcz still only just 14 when he was arrested by police at his family home.

Before he was detained he had sent messages to other friends on Facebook Messenger admitting ‘things went wrong’.

He also wrote: ‘This wasn’t supposed to go down like this’. And ‘Bro I have done something bad.’

When police started searching the property they noticed a plant pot over on his top.

Underneath they found a knife covered in blood from him and his victim.

Grzeszcz was the school drug dealer at he and Roberts’ Haven High Academy and he was constantly in trouble.

It was never explicitly detailed in court, but he viewed his victim as ‘a liability’ because as his friend he knew so much about his illegal activities.

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker told him: ‘Marcel Grzeszcz, in the early hours of December 12, 2020, you lured Roberts Buncis to a wooded area of Boston where you carried out a savage and brutal attack upon him with a knife which you had brought to the scene, in the course of which you made a determined effort to remove his head, before leaving his body for others to find later that same morning.

‘Although it is less easy to discern the precise motive for your actions that night, if indeed they extended beyond the excitement which the infliction of violence had caused you to experience in the past, it would appear that you viewed the deceased as something of a liability.

‘There was a significant degree of planning and premeditation, including luring the deceased to the scene and taking the knife with you when you met up with him.

‘When the two of you met up in the wooded area, I’m satisfied while the deceased was unarmed and unaware of what was to take place, you came armed with a large knife and with latex gloves intending at that time, at the very least, to cause him serious bodily harm.

‘I should make clear that, although when you commenced the attack upon the deceased you may not have intended to kill him, as opposed to intending him to suffer really serious bodily injury, I am sure that as the attack progressed, given the number and nature of the injuries which you inflicted upon the deceased, there came a time when you did intend to kill him and proceeded to do so.’

The judge lifted a reporting restriction barring the naming of Grzeszcz following an application by the media.

The trial previously heard that Grzeszcz was forced to leave St Nicholas Primary after bringing a knife on to the premises, and was sent to a pupil referral unit. 

The defendant then moved to Haven High Academy, where he stayed for around three years, but was excluded for selling drugs both in and out of school.

Grzeszcz was then sent to a pupil referral unit where he started the day before Roberts was found dead.

In a short victim impact statement read to the court on behalf of Roberts’s father, Edgars Buncis, he said: ‘How do I put into words how I feel?

‘This is all wrong. No father should ever have to bury their son.

‘Nothing is a reason for this. I have lost my destination and my purpose.

‘My life is in a cemetery. I feel empty and nothing will change this.’ 

Grzeszcz’s trial at Lincoln Crown Court  earlier this year heard that the defendant ‘intended at the very least to inflict serious violence’ on his young victim because ‘he was a snitch’.

The teenager claimed Robert had taken the knife to the scene and he ‘lost control’ when the youngster attempted to stab him.

But jurors dismissed Grzeszcz’s account after under two hours of deliberations, and instead concluded he was ‘motivated by anger and tried to punish the deceased rather than losing self-control’.

The youth admitted manslaughter mid way through his trial but denied murder.  

The teenager’s trial was told he stabbed Roberts ‘in excess of 70 times’, with a wound to the neck that was ‘consistent with a decapitation attempt.’

Roberts was lured to the area by the defendant before he was subjected to a ‘savage prolonged attack’ with a knife and left to die on the village green before his body was found at around 10am the next day. 

Acting on behalf of the Grzeszcz, defence QC Brendan Kelly admitted the violence was ‘extraordinary’ but submitted it indicated a ‘loss of control’ from the defendant. 

Addressing the jury during the trial, the prosecution told the jury the murder was ‘brutal’, ‘sustained’ and ‘gratuitous’.

Outside court today Detective Chief Inspector Richard Myszczyszyn, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: ‘This is an utterly tragic case. I would like to pay tribute to the people who loved Roberts, and had to deal with losing him in such brutal and horrific circumstances.

‘Their support for our investigation has been unwavering, and their bravery has been an inspiration.

‘Nothing could bring Roberts back, but our commitment was to try to find some semblance of justice for a grieving family and community.

‘The act was utterly senseless and the consequences, devastating. It will be remembered by Officers and Staff as one of the worst and saddest cases we have ever dealt with. The level of violence, and that it involved children, makes it almost incomprehensible.

‘The diligence and dedication displayed by the team who responded and investigated was a credit to our Force and hopefully of some reassurance to the community as they continue to come to terms with this distressing and disturbing incident.

‘Roberts’s future was stolen and that is an injustice that cannot be undone. We hope today’s sentence might at least offer some closure to those affected.

‘It’s a stark and chilling lesson on the potential devastation of knife crime. If you, as a parent or a child, have any concerns about knives, please talk to us.

‘We can all play a part in building a future free of such desperately sad and unnecessary loss of life. We will educate and engage on knife crime and we will continue to relentlessly pursue justice for victims; as we do so, we will remember Roberts.’

At the time of the murder Roberts’ brave single-parent father Edgars said people should remember his so with a smile. 

In a statement issued through Lincolnshire Police he said: ‘I am comforted by the community support that has been shown and I understand that friends want to show their support by getting together on Saturday.

‘I will not be attending, I will remember Roberts in private and celebrate his life at his funeral.

‘Please remember Roberts with flowers and a smile. Be safe and please do not do anything stupid. I want you to continue with your lives and do the things that Roberts can no longer do.

‘I do not want any other family to go through what I have, please do not make me more sad.

‘Do not judge before we know the truth, let the police do their investigation.

‘I do not judge the family of the boy involved, I am not God, for this we have court.’

Haven High Academy, in Boston, Lincolnshire, has been updating parents on social media following the ‘incident involving some of’ their pupils.

They posted online: ‘There has been a very serious incident in the community involving some of our students which has now resulted in a murder investigation.

‘We are currently in communication with the Executive Director Children’s Services, the Police and other organisations, to ensure that we can provide appropriate support to our students and staff at this difficult time.’