Man found guilty of murdering neighbour in knife attack after more than a decade of threats

A 52-year-old man who stabbed his neighbour 27 times after subjecting him to years of abuse has been found guilty of murder.

Can Arslan fatally attacked father-of-three Matthew Boorman outside his home as he returned from work last October in Walton Cardiff, Gloucestershire.

The killing was the culmination of 12 years of threats from Arslan against his neighbours near Tewkesbury, Bristol Crown Court heard.

Victim’s family condemn ‘toothless’ police response

Following the verdict, the family of 43-year-old Mr Boorman criticised the police and authorities for their “toothless and ineffective” response to the danger Arslan posed.

His sister Sarah Elston said the family would fight to “expose the failings in the system that let this happen”.

She said multiple agencies and authorities were warned of the threat which Arslan posed to Mr Boorman and his other neighbours.

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“The response was toothless and ineffective, even when the defendant himself told the police he was going to murder Matthew,” said Ms Elston.

“Matthew was not this man’s only victim on that dreadful evening, but he was the only one with the misfortune to pay the high price of his life.”

In May, Mrs Boorman made a statement to police setting out a summary of the threats from Arslan, adding that she was worried about someone being murdered.

Arslan made counter-allegations, accusing the Boormans of racially abusing him and told police “I will murder him”, the day before he attacked Mr Boorman.

Murder caught on CCTV and doorbell cameras

Small rows over parking and a scratch to a car had escalated to the point where Arslan had repeatedly threatened to attack or kill those living near him.

The victim’s widow, Sarah Boorman, said they had not used their back garden for more than a year because of his threats.

The murder and subsequent threats and attacks were caught in graphic detail on the neighbourhood’s many CCTV and doorbell cameras.

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During the trial, the court heard that Arslan was not mentally ill or in the grip of psychosis, but that he had been diagnosed with a personality disorder.

At 7.33pm on the night of the murder, he mentioned hearing voices telling him to kill, saying it was the voice of his childhood teddy bear.

The prosecution said that, despite having a personality that lay outside what is normal, Arslan was fully in control of himself and knew the difference between right and wrong.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it was investigating Gloucestershire Police’s “actions following a series of reported neighbourhood incidents” prior to Mr Boorman’s death.

Arslan was remanded to Broadmoor secure hospital and will be sentenced in June.

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