Pie fortune heir tried to wash blood off after stabbing 'only friend'

A wealthy heir who stabbed his housemate to death in a Christmas Eve 'frenzy' tried to wash blood off his hands before claiming he acted in self defence, a court heard.

Armed with two knives, Dylan Thomas, 24, stabbed his 'only friend' William Bush, 23, in the back of the neck in his bedroom.

He went on to stab William a total of 37 times in the home they shared in Llandaff, a leafy suburb of Cardiff.

Thomas's grandmother Sharon Burton was waiting for him in her Porsche parked outside the property unaware of the 'horrors' going on inside.

Forensic scientist Jessica Adby, who examined the scene on Boxing Day, found pools of blood along with a bloodied handprint on the kitchen wall and spattered blood at the scene of the alleged murder.

An image of the handprint was shown to the jury of 10 men and two women.

Ms Adby said blood in the kitchen sink indicated Thomas had made an attempt to clean his hands before police arrived at 11.30 am on Christmas Eve.

Blood profiles taken from the scene contained mixed DNA from both men who had been friends since meeting at public school more than 10 years earlier.

The DNA of Mr Bush and Thomas was found on a bloodstained kitchen knife and a flick knife discovered at the scene.

Ms Adby said: 'There were numerous areas of blood staining in the kitchen near the patio entrance, the right side of the kitchen, and a window.

'There were also various bloodspots on kitchen drawers.'

Ms Adby said it was not possible to determine the site of the original knife attack but Mr Bush's blood was found on a bean bag in his bedroom.

The victim, a popular and caring young man who was about to move out of the house to set up home with his girlfriend, was found dead on the patio of the £425,000 property.

Ms Adby said a large pool of blood on the patio, which had been cleared away, indicated Mr Bush had been bleeding for quite some time.

Pathologist Dr Richard Jones gave the court a list of the separate stab wounds to Mr Bush's neck, head, chest and torso.

He also revealed cannabis was found in the deceased's bloodstream in the post mortem examination.

Thomas, who is being held at Ashworth High Security Psychiatric Hospital in Liverpool, has admitted manslaughter but denies murdering his friend.

The loner, a grandson of pie and property tycoon Sir Stanley Thomas who has a reported fortune of £235m, is claiming diminished responsibility.

He suffered serious hand wounds in the knife attack and told police he acted in self-defence when his friend had 'gone mental' after smoking cannabis.

Prosecutor Greg Bull KC has told the murder trial that there is no evidence to suggest that William Bush was ever in possession of a knife.

He told the jury: 'It is the prosecution case that Mr Thomas knew full well what he was doing. This was a planned attack.

'He had deliberately armed himself with a kitchen knife and the flick knife before entering the bedroom of William Bush and attacking him from behind.

'As Mr Bush attempted to flee he was pursued and attacked further.'

The prosecution accept that Thomas was suffering from schizophrenia and two psychiatrists are due to give evidence next week to decide whether he acted because of an 'abnormality of mind'.

The trial has heard two months before the alleged murder Mr Bush barricaded himself inside his bedroom after his friend told him: 'I thought or wondered about killing you'.

And the night before the fatal stabbing Thomas did a Google search on the anatomy of the neck and found a medical illustration of the main blood vessels which was shown to the jury.

The trial, which is due to conclude next week, continues.