Murder accused sat on neighbour’s body and had ‘triumphant’ cigarette, jury told

A man who stabbed his neighbour to death on the victim’s front lawn sat on top of him and lit a “triumphant” cigarette after the killing, a court has heard.

Can Arslan, 52, attacked father-of-three Matthew Boorman in Snowdonia Road, Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, on October 5 last year.

Arslan had subjected the 43-year-old victim and other local residents of the new-build development to years of threats and abuse, and had been charged with harassment just a week before the killing.

During his murder trial at Bristol Crown Court, jurors heard he had accused Mr Boorman and other neighbours of trying to get him evicted.

The victim, who worked for engineering firm GE Aviation, had just returned from work when Arslan stabbed him.

Mr Boorman’s wife, Sarah, witnessed the entire attack and tried to pull Arslan off her husband, suffering a deep wound to her thigh as a result.

In a recorded police interview, Mrs Boorman said she had unlocked the front door for her husband at around 5pm on the day of the incident, and had seen Arslan cross in front of her kitchen window.

She initially believed Arslan was throwing punches, but then realised he had a knife.

“He continued to just stab Matthew like he was an animal,” she said.

Mrs Boorman said she had screamed at the neighbours to come and help her, and Arslan had swiped at her with the knife.

“I wish I had hit (Arslan) with something or thrown something or done something to distract him so Matthew had a chance to run,” she said.

“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.

“Then he threw the cigarette on the floor and got up casually and walked around to the front garden as Matthew lay dying on the floor.”

Describing the defendant’s manner, she said: “He was calm, he knew exactly what he was doing, he had waited for Matthew, he had done what he had done to Matthew and he was pleased with what he had done to Matthew.”

She added that her oldest child had seen his father’s bloodied body from the window, adding: “He can’t get it out of his head.”

He was helped by Stephen Wilkinson, an off-duty police officer, who followed Arslan brandishing a piece of wood, trying to force him to drop the knife.

The jury were shown footage of Arslan banging on Mr Marsden’s patio windows with the knife calling “come out, come out”, before lighting a cigarette.

The attacker then walked back towards the Boormans’ home, and those administering CPR had to carry Mr Boorman away in case Arslan targeted him again.

Residents armed with golf clubs, bats and planks of wood managed to contain Arslan until police arrived.

Mrs Boorman said: “He was threatening everyone and enjoying it, he loved the attention of it – he was saying he was going to murder us.”

Another neighbour, Elizabeth Stock, who is a nurse, noticed that, when police arrived, Arslan’s wife, Louise, was “verbally aggressive” to officers and threw a glass of water at them.

The Boormans and people living nearby had suffered years of abuse from Arslan, and Mrs Boorman said they had not used their back garden for more than a year because of his threats.

He would yell at them that he knew where she and her husband worked, and film the windows of their children’s bedrooms.

Arslan, who is Turkish, made counter-allegations, accusing the Boormans of racially abusing him.

The day before the attack, a police officer had telephoned Arslan about the complaint he had made.

Arslan informed the officer he would sort his neighbour out himself, adding he would “murder him”, the jury heard.

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.