'Grindr-row murderer Aaron Ray attacked me in possessive rage'

Aaron Ray was convicted of murdering Jason Brockbanks following a week-long trial

A murderer who stabbed his lover to death after reading messages on dating app Grindr had previously attacked another man in a "possessive and jealous" rage, the BBC has been told.

Aaron Ray, from Sunderland, was jailed on Thursday for a minimum of 22 years over the killing of Northumbria University student Jason Brockbanks.

Another man who knew Ray, 21, has now described him as a violent liar.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Mr Brockbanks, 24, had been knifed in bed.

His body was found three days later.

During a week-long trial, the court was told it was likely Mr Brockbanks, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, had fallen asleep when he got back to his student flat with Ray on 24 September last year.

CCTV footage showing Ray and Jason Brockbanks before the murder

Ray recorded a video of himself scrolling through Mr Brockbanks' phone.

Ray then got a knife from the communal kitchen and attacked him while he was lying in bed.

'Beaten up'

The trial heard from two of Ray's ex-boyfriends.

One was forced to take out a non-molestation order after Ray became violent and threatened to kill him, while another said he was confronted over claims he had cheated.

A third man, who did not give evidence in court, has now told the BBC anonymously how Ray was also violent towards him.

This man said Ray was well-known in the LGBT community for being aggressive and violent

They met on the dating app and had started chatting before meeting up several months later.

"He came across as the normal, happy, bubbly young guy - his pictures you would not have thought that he could have been possible of committing this crime," he said.

"There was something very untoward about his behaviour, particularly when he was fuelled with alcohol.

"It all got very violent and aggressive quickly. We went for some drinks, very casually, and at the end of the night he was so drunk he was causing fights in a pizza shop with strangers, for no reason at all, completely unprovoked."

Aaron Ray and the man had met on dating app Grindr, where he also met Jason Brockbanks

He said he was later "beaten up" by Ray.

"It was a surprise that someone so slight, so skinny, so small could almost be like the demon possessed when he had alcohol," he said.

"I think he was violent not just to me but towards everybody he's ever had personal, one-to-one dealings with.

"It was always his way or no way at all. He was very possessive and jealous."

'Another lie'

The man said Ray's claim to the court that he had been in an exclusive relationship with Mr Brockbanks had been "another lie" because he had been dating other people in the weeks before the murder.

He added the killer's behaviour - including stabbing his family's pet cockatiel in 2020 - had led many people to believe he would eventually harm someone.

Jason Brockbanks was found dead in his Newcastle flat three days after being stabbed

"If you speak to anybody in Sunderland who goes out or people in the LGBT community in Newcastle who have heard the name Aaron Ray, they will know from his actions in bars, clubs and takeaways even - but also from his previous criminal behaviour - that this was inevitable," he said.

"He could walk into a bar and cause trouble where there was no trouble.

"A number of people said this would happen one day and unfortunately he's proven them right."