Horrifying CCTV footage shows the moment a knifeman tried to smash his way into a neighbour’s home moments after he had stabbed another to death in front of his wife.
Can Arslan, 52, stabbed dad-of-three Matthew Boorman 27 times on his front lawn as he returned home from work in Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, on October 5 last year.
Bristol Crown Court heard he was fuelled by ‘anger and revenge’ at fellow residents whom he believed had been trying to get him evicted.
Mr Boorman’s wife, Sarah, watched Arslan walk by her kitchen window and told jurors she initially thought he was punching her husband until she saw the blade in his hand.
She was stabbed in the thigh as she desperately tried to pull him away.
Giving evidence at the murder trial, she told jurors: ‘Arslan treated Matthew like he was a piece of meat; he sat on top of him, and he lit a cigarette as if he was triumphant.’
The court has heard he then tried to force his way into the home of another neighbour, Peter Marsden.
Security footage played for the jurors shows Arslan walking barefooted towards Mr Marsden’s home, followed by off-duty police officer Stephen Wilkinson brandishing a large piece of wood.
Mr Wilkinson can be heard calling after the knifeman, telling him to ‘stand still now’ and warning: ‘Don’t you go down there.’
Arslan carries on to a wooden gate which he barges through before the footage cuts to him tussling with Mr Marsden in his kitchen.
Mr Marsden was stabbed eight times before he managed to wrestle Arslan back outside.
The footage shows Mr Wilkinson swinging at the knifeman with the wood while screaming at Mr Marsden to ‘shut the door’.
He manages to do so as two small dogs run back inside before Arslan stoops to collect his cigarette from the floor and stares inside through the glass.
The footage goes on to show Arslan lighting up and walking back out onto the street where the off-duty officer pleads with him to ‘put the knife down’.
Residents armed with golf clubs, bats and planks of wood managed to contain Arslan until police arrived.
Arslan has admitted the attempted murder of Mr Marsden, causing grievous bodily harm to Mrs Boorman, and a charge of affray, but denies murder, claiming he was in the grip of a psychiatric disorder.
Prosecutor Kate Brunner QC said: ‘The prosecution say this was a premeditated killing carried out in retribution and anger and this defendant is guilty of murder.’
The trial, which is due to last a week and a half, continues.
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