A DAD was stabbed to death by his neighbour, who then stood on top of his lifeless body and lit a “triumphant” cigarette after the heinous crime, a court heard.

Last year, Can Arslan, 52, assaulted Mathew Boorman on his front yard in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire.

Arslan had accused the father-of-three, 43, and other neighbours of attempting to remove him from the estate they shared, according to Bristol Crown Court.

Jurors were informed that he had harassed the inhabitants of the new-build community for years and had been charged with harassment just a week before the murder.

Mr Boorman, a GE Aviation engineer, had barely returned from work when Arslan stabbed him.

Sarah, his shocked wife, observed the entire attack and sought to pull Arslan away from her husband – and was stabbed in the thigh as a result.

She said authorities she had opened the door for her husband and then seen Arslan cross in front of their front window.

She first assumed Arslan was beating her husband, but then she noticed he was brandishing a knife.

“He proceeded to stab Matthew like he was an animal,” she added.

“I wish I had slapped him with something, thrown something at him, or done something to distract him so Matthew could flee.”

“Arslan handled Matthew like a piece of meat, perched on top of him, and lit a cigarette triumphantly.

“As Matthew lay dying on the floor, he threw the cigarette on the floor, stood up, and nonchalantly went around to the front yard.

“He was calm, he knew precisely what he was doing, he waited for Matthew, he did what he did to Matthew, and he was satisfied with what he did to Matthew.”

Mrs. Boorman said she yelled for help from neighbours before Arslan stabbed her in the leg, leaving a serious wound.

She went on to say that her oldest kid had seen his father’s bleeding body from the window and that “he can’t get it out of his brain.”

Following the tragic attack on Mr. Boorman, Arslan allegedly pushed his way into Peter Marsden’s home and stabbed him eight times.

Mr Marsden ultimately wrestled him out of the premises, and Arslan returned to the Boorman’s house.

Neighbors who were doing CPR on the father were forced to take him aside in case Arslan targeted him again.

Stephen Wilkinson, an off-duty police officer, assisted him by following Arslan and brandishing a piece of wood in an attempt to compel him to drop the knife.

The jury was shown video showing Arslan hammering on Mr Marsden’s patio windows with a knife, shouting “come out, come out,” before lighting a cigarette.

Residents armed with golf clubs, bats, and planks of wood were able to keep Arslan at bay until the police came.

“He was threatening everyone and loving it, he enjoyed the spotlight – he was screaming he was going to murder us,” Mrs. Boorman claimed.

Another neighbour, Elizabeth Stock, reported that when police came, Arslan’s wife, Louise, was “verbally abusive” to them and hurled a glass of water at them.

‘I’LL MURDER HIM’

Mrs. Boorman stated that they had not utilised their back yard in over a year due to Arslan’s threats.

He’d yell that he knew where she and her husband worked and film the windows of their kids’ bedrooms.

Arslan, who is Turkish, responded with counter-allegations, accusing the Boormans of racist abuse.

A police officer had called Arslan the day before the incident to inquire about the complaint he had filed.

According to the verdict, Arslan told the officer that he would take care of his neighbour personally and that he would “kill him.”

Arslan has acknowledged to attempting to murder Mr Marsden, causing serious bodily harm to Mrs Boorman, and affray, but he denies murder, claiming he was suffering from a psychiatric disease.

“The prosecution says this was a deliberate killing carried out in retaliation and rage, and this defendant is convicted of murder,” said prosecutor Kate Brunner QC.

The trial, which is scheduled to last a week and a half, is still ongoing.