Man murdered ex-flatmate after passport dispute

A man has been found guilty of murdering his former flatmate.

Neil Lakhani, 38, was strangled to death at his home in Greengates Court, Cambridge, in September.

Detectives said he had accused Jonathon Austin of stealing his passport, which turned into a "trivial argument" and "escalated into violence".

Austin, 23, who also lived in a flat in the Greengates Court complex off Histon Road, was convicted after a trial at Huntingdon Law Courts.

Jurors were told Mr Lakhani, who had cancer, had lost a lot of weight in the months before he died.

Prosecutor Charles Myatt told jurors that Austin "battered" Mr Lakhani "repeatedly" to the head and strangled him on 17 September.

He intended to kill the victim, he said.

Austin initially phoned his father to tell him what he had done, before calling the ambulance service at 11:30 BST, police said.

Mr Myatt explained how he told a 999 operator that the victim was his friend and that they started fighting.

He explained "his mate had got angry and had tried to stab him" with a knife, and Austin claimed he "blacked out".

But Mr Myatt dismissed the defendant's blacking out "story" as a "smokescreen".

Austin admitted to police he strangled Mr Lakhani with his hands but had not hit him with anything, Mr Myatt said.

The victim died from compression of the neck and coronary artery disease.

Austin, who had no previous convictions, told police that Mr Lakhani was "often abusive" and behaved erratically - the court heard.

He said he had lived with Mr Lakhani but had moved to a nearby flat.

Barrister Nichola Cafferkey, who represented Austin, argued that her client may have thought he had no choice but to defend himself.

Austin, who moved to Cambridge from South Africa, was autistic and had a background of trauma, she said.

However, jurors returned a unanimous guilty verdict.

Judge David Farrell remanded him in custody and said he would impose a mandatory life term at the sentencing hearing on 6 June.

Speaking after the verdict, Det Insp Lee Martin said: "This began as a trivial argument about a passport but soon escalated into violence.

"There was ample opportunity for Austin to leave the flat, but instead he chose to assault Mr Lakhani and subject him to prolonged physical assault, and tragically fatal strangulation.

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