Tewkesbury neighbour murderer jailed for life
Can Arslan, 52, carried out a "reign of terror" on the Walton Cardiff estate, for more than 12 years.
Last updated 9th Jun 2022
A Gloucestershire man who stabbed his neighbour to death on his own front lawn and injured two others has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 38 years.
Bristol Crown Court heard how Can Arslan, 52, carried out a "reign of terror" to his local community with years of threats and abuse.
Arslan lived on the Walton Cardiff estate, near Tewkesbury, for more than 12 years before he killed 43 year old father, Matthew Boorman.
Arslan denied murder, claiming his diagnosis of anti-social personality disorder lessened the offence to one of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but was convicted after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
At trial in April, the jury heard Arslan was not in the grip of psychosis, but had been diagnosed with a personality disorder.
It manifested itself in extreme anger and aggression to perceived insults, making grandiose claims about himself and an exaggerated sense of his own importance.
The prosecution said despite having a personality that lay outside of what is normal, Arslan was fully in control of himself and knew the difference between right and wrong.
The defence argued Arslan's personality disorder is in itself an abnormality of mental function and therefore provided a defence to murder.
He was unanimously convicted of murder.
He admitted wounding Mr Boorman's wife Sarah, whom he stabbed in the leg when she tried to pull him off her husband, and the attempted murder of another neighbour, Peter Marsden.
The victims had been taking legal action against Arslan to try to get him evicted from the estate.
Many had installed expensive security systems in response to Arslan's aggression, and the killing was captured in graphic detail.
Jailing Arslan for life with a minimum term of 38 years, Mrs Justice Cutts said: "On that afternoon, for no reason at all, you took the life of a decent family man, robbed his children of their father, his wife of her husband, and his mother and siblings of a much-loved son and brother."
At the time of the killing, Arslan was the subject of an injunction prohibiting him from threatening or abusing his neighbours, and had been served with a notice of eviction.
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.
In May, Mrs Boorman had made a statement to police setting out a summary of the threats they had received from the defendant.
Arslan 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.
During the call, Arslan verbally abused the officer, calling him a motherf* and a cocksucker, and told him he would sort his neighbour out himself, adding "I will murder him".
After his arrest, medics found he was alert and had no psychotic symptoms.
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.
It was the first time he had ever made mention of voices, and a forensic psychiatrist said he was sceptical about the claim.
Dr John Sandford told the jury people suffering a psychotic episode or prolonged mental illness will tend to have a "package" of symptoms, including paranoid delusion and auditory and visual hallucinations.
He added: "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."
Following the incident the Constabulary made a mandatory referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and it is currently investigating police actions.
To ensure all learning opportunities are identified, senior representatives from local agencies have also commissioned an independent, non-statutory partnership review, which will look at how both public and private sector organisations worked together to address the concerns of Arslan's neighbours.
Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden said: "My thoughts remain with Matthew's family and friends, Peter Marsden and his family, and all those in the community who continue to suffer in light of Arslan's actions.
"While we are unable to comment on some aspects of the case while the IOPC investigation and independent review of the case are ongoing, we can reassure people that the Constabulary has already taken action to improve.
"One area where we believe we could have adopted a different approach is in viewing Arslan's behaviour and actions as stalking. Traditionally this has not been a focus in cases which present to our Neighbourhood Policing Teams as protracted neighbour disputes or long term anti-social behaviour of a resident within a community.
"However if Arslan's escalating actions had been considered in such a way, it is possible he would have been referred to the 'stalking clinic' we have in place in the county, in which offenders' actions are discussed and the risk a person poses can be assessed. The work at a clinic can lead to protective orders being issued, prohibiting offenders from certain activity but also requiring them to take positive action to address their behaviour.
"In light of this, tailored training has been delivered to all our neighbourhood teams and is now in place for new recruits. A number of officers in different departments are also being given special training to help increase expertise on stalking right across the Constabulary. These steps are intended to ensure that the possibility of stalking offences is fully considered in all cases, not just in relation to those it is traditionally associated with, such as domestic abuse and individuals fixated with others where the motivation is romantic or sexual.
"The Constabulary will act on any findings from the reviews that are taking place to ensure we are doing everything possible to keep people safe from harm."