Can Arslan: Five key moments in trial of murderer who claimed ‘teddy bear told him to kill neighbour’

Arslan denied murder on grounds of diminished responsibility after father of three killed and two others injured

A man who knifed his neighbour 27 times after subjecting him to years of threats and abuse has been found guilty of murder.

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

Arslan denied murder, claiming he should be convicted of a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

But a jury found him guilty on Monday after trial at Bristol Crown Court.

The defendant previously admitted the attempted murder of another neighbour, Peter Marsden, causing grievous bodily harm to Mr Boorman’s wife, and a charge of affray.

Here are the key moments from the trial:

An off-duty police officer tried to confront Arslan with a piece of wood after the attack (PA)

Killer ‘acted out his own horror film’

The prosecution argued that Arslan was fully in control of what he was doing and he knew the difference between right and wrong.

One of Mr Boorman’s colleagues, on the phone to him when Arslan attacked, described listening to the incident as like a “totally horrendous horror movie”.

Kate Brunner QC said: “This was not something that happened to him - it was something he had planned and controlled.

“It was a horror movie planned out, where he was going to stab his victims to death one by one.

“A horror movie where he was going to take a starring role, and end up on the TV.”

Defendant claimed his childhood teddy bear was telling him to kill

The defendant told police the voice of his childhood teddy bear told him to kill, the court heard.

Expert forensic psychologist Dr John Sandford queried this claim however, saying that he did not consider Arslan to be mentally ill.

Dr Sandford said that he had a personality disorder but that this did not mean that he needed to be in hospital.

The first mention of “voices” in Arslan’s medical records came after the fatal attack, at 7.33pm on the night of the killing.

Neighbours try to apprehend Arslan after his killed neighbour Matthew Boorman (PA)

He told police: “The voice said to me to ‘kill him”, and later added that it was his childhood teddy bear who was speaking to him.

Dr Sandford said: “When you get a voice on its own you are always very sceptical, but when you get a voice on its own after a serious offence you are even more sceptical.”

He added: “There is nothing to suggest that this man is mentally ill or disordered in some way, he is doing a series of purposeful acts that are goal directed, his goal is to kill Mr Boorman, and attempt to kill his other neighbour – it is quite clear how he is going about that.”

Father-of-three ‘scared’ by neighbour months before fatal attack

Victim Mr Boorman had previously said he was “very scared” of what his neighbour might do and said he didn’t “know what he’s capable of”.

Mr Boorman had made a statement about Arslan as part of a civil injuction proceedings launched by Tewkesbury Borough Council to stop the 52-year-old’s anti-social behaviour.

He said that he had lived next door since 2013 and that his neighbour had called him “Hitler”.

In his statement, Mr Boorman referred to a phone call Arslan had had in his garden.

Mr Boorman said he was intimidated by Arslan’s threatening conversations (PA)

“Mr Arslan was speaking in such a loud voice that I could clearly hear what he was saying,” Mr Boorman said.

“He referred to an incident in 2009 when he assaulted someone after a road rage incident and put them in intensive care. If he would have killed that guy he would be out by now.

“He talks about hoping he would go to prison and would get out early because he is unhinged.”

“Due to ongoing issues, hearing this from Mr Arslan caused me to feel very intimidated and concerned for the safety of myself and my family.

“I believe he was well aware I may be hearing his conversations and the aim of doing this was to cause myself to feel alarmed and distressed, as well as to continually harass my family.”

Arslan was caught on CCTV after he stabbed Mr Boorman to death (PA)

Video of neighbours confronting killer

CCTV footage shown to the trial documented the entire incident in the village of Walton Cardiff near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

It showed Arslan walking barefoot around the corner from the crime scene to the home of Mr Marsden - another neighbour who had also been involved in earlier legal proceedings to remove Arslan from the area.

A group of people gathered in the street to corner Arslan before the police arrived. One of them, an off-duty police officer Steve Wilkinson, is seen on camera confronting Arslan with a piece of wood and hitting him.

Other CCTV showed to the jury showed Arslan sitting on the body of Mr Boorman after he had killed him and lighting what witnesses claimed was a “triumphant” cigarette.

Years of threats preceded fatal stabbing

Arslan killed Mr Boorman after a long-running dispute with his neighbours, the court heard.

Ms Brunner QC told the trial that, before the incident, Arslan had told Mr Boorman and his wife: “I’m going to kill you” and “I’m going to put you in the ground”.

In May last year, Mrs Boorman had made a statement to police setting out a summary of the threats they had received from Arslan.

She said they were worried about being murdered, or that someone was going to be seriously hurt very soon.

Arslan made counter-allegations against them, accusing the Boormans of racial abuse.

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

During the call, Arslan verbally abused the officer, calling him a motherf***** and a c*** s****r, and told him he would sort his neighbour out himself, adding “I will murder him”.

After his arrest, the defendant claimed to have taken an overdose of opiate-based medication including diazepam, but a hospital assessment found he was not on any kind of drug.

Medics found that he was alert and had no psychotic symptoms.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Cutts will sentence Arslan on June 9.