Killer dubbed ‘Terminator’ guilty of murdering dad-of-three stabbed 27 times
A killer dubbed ‘The Terminator’ has been found guilty of murdering a dad-of-three after turning a quiet rural village into a ‘real-life horror movie’.
Can Arslan, 52, launched an ‘attempted massacre’ of his neighbours following ‘long-running disputes’ over parking, a jury heard.
Matthew Boorman, 43, had just got home from work when he was stabbed 27 times and his wife Sarah wounded in her leg as she desperately tried to save him.
The victim died at the scene, before Arslan sat on his body for a ‘triumphant’ cigarette.
He then went around the corner to force his way into the home of another neighbour, Peter Marsden, who was knifed eight times. Mr Marsden survived but was forced to undergo major surgery.
Harrowing CCTV showed the attack in Walton Cardiff near Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.
Arslan had left neighbours terrified for their lives as he repeatedly threatened to kill them, Bristol Crown Court heard.
He would shout ‘I’ll put you down’, while six months before the killings he vowed ‘I am going to f***ing do a massacre’.
In footage of his arrest, he laughed and told officers: ‘I warned you, the police. One year. Look, it happened.’
He denied murdering Mr Boorman, claiming his personality disorder reduced his offence to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. He had earlier admitted attempted murder, GBH with intent and affray.
Judge Mrs Justice Cutts adjourned sentencing for a further psychiatric report – but warned he would be jailed for life. Arslan is due to be sentenced on June 9.
The jury heard he had targeted Mr Boorman and other neighbours after they grouped together to try and evict him over anti-social behaviour in a dispute initially sparked by a shared driveway.
The defendant – said to be ‘motivated by anger and revenge’ – was compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character by prosecutors for the ‘cold, calculated and robotic’ way he carried out his onslaught.
One day before the killings, a police officer visited Arslan about counter allegations he had made and was told ‘I will sort this neighbour out myself’ and ‘I will murder him’.
Widow Sarah Boorman had warned ‘someone is going to get badly hurt very soon’ five months before her husband was killed.
Describing his murder, Mrs Boorman said: ‘I saw blood and saw him stab Matthew in the side of his face. Then he stabbed him in his stomach. I tried to pull him off again, then he continued to just stab Matthew like he was an animal on the floor.
‘He was just stabbing him in the head, back, and I fell back and ran into the house, to scream for call 999 and for neighbours to please come and help me and save my husband.
‘I wish I had hit him with something – thrown something at him – so Matt could have had a chance to run. He was just full of blood and Mr Arslan treated him like he was a piece of meat.’
His second victim Mr Marsden told the trial: ‘His eyes I remember were really evil. He had such a hatred look. I instantly dropped what I was doing and ran towards him shouting ‘get out get out.’
‘At the time I did not know he had a knife on him – I maybe would have reacted slightly different if I knew. I ran to him and got my arm under his arm and forced him out the house.’
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