The British heir to the $292 million “Peter’s Pies” empire was arrested for trying break into Buckingham Palace just a month before he viciously stabbed his best friend to death, prosecutors said.
Dylan Thomas, 24, was caught climbing the fence of the London royal residence and let out on bail a month before he allegedly killed his roommate and only pal William Bush, 23, on Christmas Eve, 2023, a crown court in Cardiff, Wales heard on Wednesday.
Bush’s older brother, Alexander, claimed in a police interview that his late brother had called him in November and told him that Thomas had been arrested for the bizarre trespass attempt, The Telegraph reported.
“I laughed it off thinking it was just Dylan being silly but Will said it was serious,” Alexander said in the audio recording, which was played for the court.
“He said it was Dylan’s nature. He was very curious and wanted to know what would happen,” he added.
Thomas’ motive for scaling the palace fence was not immediately clear.
Thomas is the heir to Peter’s Food Services, a business empire founded by his grandfather Sir Gilbert Stanley Thomas, and is known for its iconic Peter’s Pies. The British food giant is worth an estimated $292 million.
He is accused of savagely slashing Bush in the neck and severing his jugular vein with two knives during “seven minutes of horror” at their shared home in Cardiff on Christmas Eve 2023, officials alleged.
Thomas has admitted to manslaughter, however denies the murder charges levied against him.
The two had known each other since primary school and had been incredibly close until their relationship soured in the months before Christmas as Bush announced he was moving in with his girlfriend.
“Mr Thomas relied heavily on Mr Bush, but the dynamics of their relationship was changing. Mr Thomas’s attitude appeared to have changed,” said prosecutor Greg Bull.
Two months before the murder, Bush told his girlfriend that Thomas chillingly told him “I thought or wondered about killing you “ prompting bush to barricade himself inside of his bedroom.
On Dec. 23, Thomas googled “anatomy of the neck” — indicating his intention behind the murder, the prosecution alleged.
The next morning Thomas went inside their home, coaxed Bush into his bedroom and stabbed him in the back of the neck in a “frenzied attack,” the court heard.
Bush, leaking blood, ran for his life down two flights of stairs and outside, where Thomas then repeatedly stabbed him in the head and chest for a total of 37 times until he died.
Thomas called police and said he killed Bush in “self defense” after he had attacked him first.
“I kept going and stabbed him. I didn’t stop,” he told the dispatcher.
The trial remains ongoing.
