NEIGHBOURS claim they heard ‘shouts, bangs and yelps’ the night a Banbury man, who later died from his injuries, was assaulted.
Janaed Akhtar is standing trial at Oxford Crown Court charged with murder after allegedly attacking Neil Comins in their shared home in Cope Road, Banbury, on Wednesday, January 3.
It is alleged the 40-year-old had hit Mr Comins, 39, with a baseball bat, causing him to die several days later in hospital from a traumatic brain injury.
READ MORE: Housemate of suspected murder victim 'didn't hear anything'
However, Akhtar has denied the offence, stating instead that his two other housemates were involved.
The defendant has also been charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice due to these allegations.
During the trial on Wednesday (July 10), the prosecution read out some written statements from neighbours in Cope Road who claimed they heard noises in the early hours of January 2.
The first neighbour, who had fallen asleep on the phone to her girlfriend at the time, said: “I woke up to some shouting but I didn’t know what it was.
“While I was on the phone, I heard more screaming. The sounds sounded angry and distressed and I think it was a male as it was a low pitch.
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“The screams were short screams, I heard two or three. I did not get out of my bed. I did not want to be a nosey parker so I did not even look out my window.
“After the screaming, nothing else happened, I went back to sleep.”
Her girlfriend, who on the other end of the phone line, also provided a statement.
She said: “I was on the call and it was late in the evening and we fell asleep.
“The phone was next to me on my bed. I was awoken by someone shouting and screaming. I can’t recall anything that was said.”
Another neighbour, who lived closer, said it was about 3am when he woke up to a ‘loud bang’.
He said: “I heard between two to three bangs, they were like bang, bang, bang, with a couple of seconds between.
“It sounded like someone stamping their feet.”
The last neighbour said she was sitting outside her home when she allegedly heard shouting.
She wrote: “One [man] was shouting and the other was a calmer voice. They were both males. I heard the louder voice say, ‘Yeah, that’s right’.
READ MORE: Housemate of suspected murder victim 'didn't hear anything'
“The shouting went on for five minutes before going quiet, this happened several times. I then heard some yelping.
“I couldn’t ascertain if it was someone in pain or not.”
The trial continues.
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