Man guilty of Banbury baseball bat murder

Janaed Akhtar blamed the killing on two innocent people

A man who inflicted a fatal baseball bat attack on a 39-year-old man before blaming it on two innocent people has been convicted of murder.

Janaed Akhtar attacked Neil Comins in Cope Road, Banbury, in the early hours of 3 January before calling 999.

Mr Comins underwent surgery for a significant head injury, but died in hospital the next day.

Akhtar, 40, formerly of Cope Road, was found guilty of murder and perverting the course of justice following a trial at Oxford Crown Court.

Thames Valley Police said Akhtar had struck Mr Comins in the head with a baseball bat and stabbed him on the side of his neck.

A post-mortem examination found he died as a result of traumatic head injury.

'Completely needless'

After calling the emergency services, Akhtar tried to blame two co-residents of the property where he lived.

They were arrested but DNA evidence led officers back to Akhtar, police said.

Following the verdict, senior investigating officer Det Ch Insp Mike Roddy said the attack had been "violent in the extreme and completely needless".

He said: "Whatever the motives for the attack, it was clear that Akhtar intended to cause Mr Comins at least very serious harm that night.

"He then made allegations against co-residents, and he has never accepted any responsibility for this murder, this despite DNA evidence being found on the baseball bat that belonged to him.

"This shows that Akhtar cared for nobody other than himself, and throughout this investigation, he has shown not one shred of remorse, and still denies any involvement, despite the weight of DNA evidence against him."

Det Ch Insp Roddy also paid tribute to Mr Comins' family.

"They have been dignified throughout the course of this investigation, and my thoughts remain with them all," he said.

Akhtar will be sentenced at a later date, to be confirmed.