An electronic tag helped police track down two teens suspected of murdering Owen Dunn in Swindon, a court has heard.

Owen, himself 18 at the time, was on his way to visit his girlfriend on December 4, 2022, when two people wearing balaclavas and carrying machetes are said to have attacked and killed him in Mazurek Way.

Their covered faces and dark clothing that the suspects wore made it difficult for witnesses to identify them.

After a Crimestoppers appeal and an extensive investigation by Wiltshire Police, Tyler Hunt, now 18, and a 15-year-old who cannot legally be named were arrested and charged with Owen's murder in March. 

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

Read More:  Owen Dunn murder trial: 'No surgeon could have saved Swindon teen'

A trial is now underway at Bristol Crown Court , where prosecutor Michael Burrows KC has spent several days interviewing witnesses, showing reels of CCTV and painstakingly tracking the route Owen's alleged killers took on the day of his death. 

He said: "Wiltshire Police recovered CCTV to track the movements of the two cyclists witnesses said were involved, both before and after the incident. The CCTV doesn't show the attack but it shows the route.

"When police arrested Tyler Hunt they discovered he had been wearing a tag at the time of the attack. The tag recorded his movement accurately and his movements match up with those of the cyclists."

Mr Burrows said Hunt's tag showed he left his home at 12.07pm on Sunday afternoon and by 12.18pm CCTV showed he had met up with the younger defendant.

He added that at 12.49pm they rode past some shops and approached someone at a cash machine, who overheard them say "No, he aint' the [one] we're looking for."

At 1.15pm they were in Eastbury Way when he made a phone call, said the prosecutor.

Mr Burrows said this call helped police triangulate phone signals to place N's phone on the same trajectory as Hunt's tag, and it is claimed their movements were the same throughout the lead-up to the attack, during the attack, and afterwards. 

The prosecutor said they were then tracked to several more locations, where multiple witnesses observed them 'looking for someone' before they arrived at Mazurek Way at 1.23pm - the time of the stabbing.

He added that the defendants fled on bikes through Swindon at speed before hiding in a wooded area on Ocotal Way at 1.48pm. 

It is alleged that at this time that the defendant's phone is used again several times, allowing police to confirm that this and Hunt's tag were in the same place. Mr Burrow said they were then picked up by a white car owned by his mother, which is tracked to a nearby pub. 

During police interview, the pair denied being involved in Owen's death but both have since changed their statements.

Both now admit to possession of a bladed weapon in a public place but both deny murder and manslaughter, insisting instead that they acted in self-defence. 

The court heard earlier in the trial 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’. 

Mr Burrows said: "Each now accepts they were involved. Tyler accepts he got off his bike and brandished a knife in self-defence but he denied causing injury.

"He accepts he got off his bike and confronted Owen Dunn with his knife but that he acted in self-defence. He accepts he caused the injury that killed Owen Dunn but says he didn't intend to."

The trial is expected to last for three weeks and continues at Bristol Crown Court.