Moment suspected killer laughs at cops and says 'I warned them I was going to murder him'

31 March 2022, 11:43 | Updated: 31 March 2022, 13:11

Police bodycam shows arrest of Can Arslan

This is the moment a man accused of knifing to death his neighbour in a parking row laughed while he was being arrested and asked officers if the victim had died.

Police body-camera footage captured the moment Can Arslan, 52, was pinned down in the street and bundled into the officers' van.

Arslan is accused of attacking father-of-three Matthew Boorman in Snowdonia Road, Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, on October 5 last year.

He denies murder on mental health grounds but admits attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent and affray.

In bodycam footage shown to the jury Arslan can be heard asking his arresting officer: "He is dead, isn't he? I warned you, the police.

"One year. Look, it happened.

"I warned them I was going to murder him.

"He was against my son, my wife. Hahaha."

He goes on to complain his handcuffs are uncomfortable, blaming his arthritis before being put in a police van.

He also told the officer pinning him down on in the street he was a "mother f***er" with a bounty on his head, saying: "You are next - more people are going to die tonight".

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Bodycam footage shown to a jury also revealed that after laughing about stabbing Matthew Boorman, the alleged murderer complained his handcuffs were too uncomfortable, blaming his arthritis.

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

Jurors at Arslan's murder trial at Bristol Crown Court yesterday saw a compilation of video clips taken on the day of Mr Boorman's killing.

Further footage was released by Gloucestershire Police yesterday after it was played in court.

It starts with off-duty police officer Stephen Wilkinson, who was carrying a piece of wood, following Arslan as he walks towards the rear entrance of neighbour Peter Marsden's home.

Minutes earlier, Arslan had fatally stabbed Mr Boorman on his front lawn and was heading to confront Mr Marsden.

Mr Wilkinson is trying to make him drop the knife, telling him, 'You stand still, now. Don't you f****** go down there. Put the f****** knife down now. Put it down'.

Arslan forces the gate into Mr Marsden's garden and the CCTV then shows Mr Marsden wrestling him out of his home - having been stabbed eight times - while Mr Wilkinson hits him with the wood.

Mr Wilkinson can be heard telling Mr Marsden to lock his door, and he leaves the garden and goes back into the street.

Arslan then lights a cigarette and leaves, where he is again confronted by Mr Wilkinson and other neighbours, who are now armed with golf clubs.

The footage ends with Mr Wilkinson again telling Arslan to put the knife down, and the attacker then walks back towards the Boormans' home.

In the footage taken from body-worn cameras of the officers who arrested Arslan he can be seen lying on the road with his hands cuffed around his back, swearing at police and saying, "You're next mother******, you're next."

Arslan adds: "He's dead, isn't he? I warn you, the police, one year. Look it happened.

"I was special forces, I warned them I was going to murder him, ha, ha, ha."

As he is placed in a police van, Arslan says: "I told the police one year because he was against my son, my wife, ha, ha, ha."

He then says there is a bounty on the police officers and calls them "mother*******".

The court heard the day before the attack, Arslan warned a police officer that he would 'murder' Mr Boorman during a telephone conversation.

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."

Arslan has admitted attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent and affray, but denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility. The trial continues.