The wife of a man killed by his neighbour has criticised the police and other authorities for “toothless and ineffective responses” to repeated warnings that the murderer was dangerous.
Can Arslan, who had a deep grudge against his neighbours, stabbed Matthew Boorman, a father of three, 27 times on his victim’s front lawn in the village of Walton Cardiff near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire on 5 October last year.
Boorman’s wife, Sarah, sustained a knife wound to her thigh as she tried to help her husband while another neighbour, Peter Marsden, was stabbed eight times but managed to fend off 52-year-old Arslan and survived.
Speaking after a jury at Bristol crown court found Arslan guilty of murder, Sarah Boorman said she would fight to expose the failings of the system. She said: “In the years that preceded Matthew’s death, multiple agencies and authorities were warned of the threat that this man posed not only to Matthew, but to many other neighbours who were threatened and harmed by him.
“Although Matthew’s murder has shocked us all to the core, the incident was not remotely out of the blue. The police and other authorities had been told about how dangerous this man was, the threats he made, and the risks he presented. The response was toothless and ineffective, even when the defendant himself told the police he was going to murder Matthew. That conversation took place on the 4 October, the night before Matthew died. He was not even warned.
“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. Mistakes were made. They must be acknowledged, truly learned from, and must never be repeated.”
Arslan had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but denied murdering Boorman.
The jury heard he had been diagnosed with a paranoid, unstable and antisocial personality disorder but the prosecution argued he was fully in control at the time of the attacks and knew the difference between right and wrong.
In her closing speech, Kate Brunner QC said Arslan had plotted a script for a real-life horror story with himself as the killer. “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,” she said. After his arrest, Arslan asked officers if he was on Sky News or the BBC.
Sarah Boorman had told the court that Arslan had repeatedly threatened to murder her, her husband and their children, taunting them that he would only serve 10 years in prison if he did so.
The court heard there had been a long-running dispute between Arslan and neighbours, with small arguments over parking and a scratch to a car escalating to the point where Arslan faced eviction.
Sarah Boorman said she would never speak Arslan’s name. “Throughout this trial the defendant has revelled in the attention, seeking his moment in the spotlight. He has not shown one flicker of remorse or decency.”
The Independent Office of Police Conduct said it was examining what actions Gloucestershire constabulary took in response to a number of reports made by neighbours since January last year.
Assistant chief constable Craig Holden said: “We understand what was heard in court raises questions over what was done by police and other agencies before the terrible events. 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.”
Peter Tonge, Tewkesbury borough council’s head of community services, said: “As a local council our powers in these difficult and complex situations are limited, particularly when it involves private housing – we did not have the authority to evict him, nor have the power to instigate eviction proceedings ourselves.
“We have been made aware that questions have been raised about the different authorities’ involvement in this case, and clearly we take this seriously. As with all serious cases like these, we will be carrying out a full review of our involvement.”
Arslan will be sentenced in June.
