Reported Heir to $291M Fortune Killed Best Friend in 'Frenzied' Christmas Eve Attack, Court Hears

11/14/2024 07:33 AM

Dylan Thomas, 24, has been accused of stabbing William Bush, 23, to death at their home in Wales on Dec. 24, 2023

• Dylan Thomas, 24, has been accused of stabbing his friend William Bush, 23, to death in a "frenzied attack" on Dec. 24, 2023, a court in Wales has heard
• The suspect is reportedly the heir to multi-million dollar company Peter's Savoury Products
• Thomas previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denies murder

The reported heir to a $291 million fortune has been accused of killing his friend in a "frenzied attack."

On Wednesday, Nov. 13, Dylan Thomas, 24, appeared before Cardiff Crown Court in the U.K. via video link from a psychiatric hospital. He has been accused of stabbing his friend William Bush, 23, to death on Dec. 24, 2023 at their Llandaff home, per the BBC and U.K. newspapers The Times and The Independent,

According to The Telegraph, the BBC and The Times, Thomas is the heir to the multi-million dollar pie company Peter's Savoury Products. He is reportedly the grandson of the company's former co-owner, Sir Stanley Thomas, the latter reported.

Thomas had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denies murder, Sky News, the BBC and The Independent stated.

Per The Times, Bush had been about to move out of the home he shared with Thomas to live with his girlfriend, Ella Jeffries, around the time of the attack.

Prosecution lawyer Greg Bull described the victim as "a quiet and passive man who shied away from confrontation," the outlet stated.

"Dylan Thomas was a loner and his only real friend was Will," Bull said of the suspect, per the publication. The pair reportedly met at school.

The court heard that on Dec. 23, Thomas went to stay with his grandmother, Sharon Burton, in Rhoose, Vale of Glamorgan, while Bush was going to spend the evening with Jeffries before spending Christmas with his family in Brecon, mid-Wales the BBC reported.

Just after midnight on Christmas Eve, Bull said the suspect searched for the "anatomy of the neck" on his computer, before texting Bush and saying he needed to see him ahead of the holidays, the BBC added.

After he tried and failed to book an Uber at 3:31 a.m. local time, his grandmother drove him back to his home later that morning after he "said he wanted to walk the dog." She parked outside the house, while Thomas went in and reportedly stabbed Bush 37 times, the BBC reported. 

Thomas had "armed himself with a large kitchen knife and a black lock knife or flick knife," The Independent stated of the attack, saying Bush tried to "flee for his life" when Thomas first stabbed him in the neck from behind.

Bull said, "It is clear that Dylan Thomas used the kitchen knife to stab Mr Bush in the chest and cut his throat, severing the major artery in the neck, as a result of which Mr Bush bled to death," per the outlet.

The Times reported that 21 of the wounds Bush suffered were to the neck in "seven minutes of horror."

The trial heard Burton gave Bush CPR on the patio outside the property after Thomas banged "on her car window distressed," the BBC reported. Per the outlet, Thomas called 999 (the U.K. version of 911) and accused Bush of stabbing him.

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Following the attack, Thomas told police he stabbed Bush in self-defense, stating the victim had been "having an episode," per The Independent. 

The outlet added that the prosecution accepted that the suspect was "mentally unwell" and had been dealing with psychosis before the stabbing.

"Following the killing, his condition worsened, as a result of which he has been receiving treatment for schizophrenia at the hospital," Bull said, according to the outlet, but argued that the suspect intended to carry out the "frenzied attack."

The court also heard that two months before the alleged attack, Bush had "barricaded himself in his bedroom" after Thomas reportedly mentioned killing him, The Times stated.

"In October to November 2023, Mr. Bush told Ella that there had been an occasion when Mr Thomas said to Mr. Bush: 'I thought or wondered about killing you,' " Bull told the court, per the outlet.

"These remarks were taken seriously by Mr. Bush who told Ella that that night he had barricaded his bedroom door to prevent Mr. Thomas entering the bedroom whilst he was asleep. He was frightened," the prosecutor added.

According to Sky News, the trial also heard that on Nov. 6, Thomas had been "arrested in London for trying to climb into Buckingham Palace" after attempting "to scale a 14 ft fence" outside the royal residence.

The trial continues. Cardiff Crown Court didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.