Can Arslan acted like he was in his own horror film, court told

A psychologist told the court there was nothing to suggest Mr Arslan was "mentally ill"

A man who stabbed his neighbour to death acted like the star of his own horror film, a court has heard.

Can Arslan, 52, stabbed Matthew Boorman 27 times outside of his home in Walton Cardiff, Gloucestershire, in October.

Mr Arslan, denies murder, claiming he should be convicted of a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Psychiatrists told jurors earlier he was not psychotic and diagnosed him with a unstable personality disorder.

Matthew Boorman was attacked on his front lawn when he arrived home from work on 5 October

The prosecution said while his personality lies outside of what is considered to be normal, Mr Arslan was fully in control of what he was doing and knew the difference between right and wrong at the time of the attack.

His defence team said his personality disorder met the condition of "abnormality of mental function" that would reduce the crime from murder to manslaughter.

'Cunning smart man'

Kate Brunner QC cited the words of one of Mr Boorman's colleagues, who was on the phone to him when Mr Arslan attacked.

"She said it was like listening to a 'totally horrendous horror movie'," Ms Brunner said.

"This was not something that happened to him - it was something he had planned and controlled.

"A horror movie where he was going to take a starring role."

She said following his arrest, Mr Arslan had asked officers whether he was on Sky News or the BBC.

Mr Arslan and Matthew Boorman were neighbours in Snowdonia Road, Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury

She accused Mr Arslan of faking psychiatric disorders for his defence and noted that by feigning mental illness, he had demonstrated how rational he was.

"He is a cunning, smart man trying to pull the wool over eyes," she added.

'Calm, robotic, emotionless'

But Howard Godfrey QC, for Mr Arslan, said he was not trying to "wriggle out" of responsibility.

"He attacks in broad daylight, when everyone is around and there is CCTV everywhere - is that normal?" he said.

"After Mr Boorman was dead, he continued stabbing him 27 times, then lights a cigarette and sits on top of Mr Boorman. Does that seem like normal behaviour?

"He is calm, he is robotic, he is emotionless throughout much of this."

Mr Godfrey cited the evidence of forensic psychiatrist Dr Sally Foster, who found "impaired mental functioning was a significant contributing factor to the defendant's acts".

The jury has been sent out to deliberate.