Man accused of murdering sick friend 'blacked out'

A knife was found next to Neil Lakhani's body in the flat off Histon Road

An autistic man has denied murdering a "mate" who had cancer during a fight in a flat.

Neil Lakhani, 38, died after fighting with Jonathon Austin, 23, at his home in Greengates Court in Cambridge in September 2024, a trial heard.

Mr Austin, who also lived at flats complex off Histon Road, has pleaded not guilty to murder and says he "blacked out" after Mr Lakhani threatened him with a knife.

A prosecuting barrister told jurors they would have to decide whether Mr Austin was guilty of "murder, manslaughter or nothing".

Charles Myatt, prosecuting counsel, told jurors how Mr Austin called 999 on 17 September.

"He told them he was with his friend," said Mr Myatt.

"They had started fighting and his mate was completely beaten up.

"His mate had got angry and had tried to stab him, and he had blacked out, and now his mate was not breathing."

Mr Austin had told the 999 operator that his friend had started getting "angry" over "something he had not done", said Mr Myatt.

He said he had "blacked out" when he saw the knife.

"He told police he had strangled Mr Lakhani with his hands but had not hit him with anything," Mr Myatt said as he outlined the prosecution case at the crown court trial at Huntingdon Law Courts.

Neil Lakhani died after getting involved in a fight at his flat in Greengates Court, jurors have heard

The jury heard that Mr Austin's father, Bruce, had told police that his son was autistic, while Mr Myatt said the defendant presented with "autism spectrum disorder".

Mr Lakhani, who would have turned 39 on Monday, died after suffering "compression of the neck" and had injuries to his cheek, jaw and eye socket, Mr Myatt said.

A knife was found on the floor near his body.

Greengates Court is a flats complex off Histon Road in Cambridge, jurors have heard

The prosecutor said jurors would have to decide whether Mr Austin was guilty of "murder, manslaughter nor nothing at all".

Mr Myatt said that before concluding that Mr Austin was guilty of murder, jurors would have to be sure he intended to kill Mr Lakhani, or intended to cause grievous bodily harm.

Mr Myatt said issues such as self-defence and the use of "reasonable" force might be raised.

As witnesses started giving evidence on Thursday, neighbour Sherry Lea-Priest said Mr Austin had moved to England from South Africa for a "better life" and was "very polite", jurors heard.

She told jurors that Mr Lakhani was "small" and "had cancer" and had "lost a lot of weight" in the months before he died.

The trial continues.