Murder accused claims victim lunged at him with knife in Birmingham bathtub struggle

Imran Uddin told a jury he strangled Ismail Younis in self-defence after being pushed into a bathtub and threatened with a knife. Uddin, 33, denies murder.

Defendant tells Birmingham Crown Court he feared for his life in fatal bathtub confrontation

Google News IE — Crime (en) reports that a man accused of murdering his boyfriend has told a jury he acted in self-defence after being pushed into a bathtub and threatened with a knife.

Imran Uddin, 33, told Birmingham Crown Court that on 17 August, Ismail Younis shoved him into the bath, jumped on top of him and produced a knife. "I wanted to save my life. I did not want to get stabbed," Uddin said, adding that he put his hand around Younis's neck as his own head was being forced underwater.

"I was frightened of being attacked… I strangled him… because I was frightened he was going to attack me," he told jurors.

Younis's body was found three days later at Uddin's home on Richmond Road in Hockley, Birmingham. Uddin denies murder.

Relationship under strain in weeks before death

Uddin said his relationship with Younis had deteriorated in the weeks leading up to the incident, describing it as "not the best" and saying the pair argued "all the time" over his contact with another man. The court heard Younis had a "fit" after discovering Uddin had been unfaithful, during which he slapped and pushed the defendant. "All I did was push him away," Uddin said.

The pair then "wrestled" in the bedroom before embracing and acknowledging the relationship was over. Younis subsequently went to the bathroom and filled the bath. He asked Uddin to bring him a bottle of poppers, a recreational drug. It was at that point, Uddin told the court, that Younis pushed him into the tub.

Thousand messages exchanged on the day

Earlier on the same day, the pair had exchanged around 1,000 messages. Some messages attributed to Younis included the phrases "I want you dead", "go die you" and "remember your time is up", the court heard.

Uddin also pointed to a message in which Younis allegedly threatened to "expose" him on social media — which Uddin said he understood to mean revealing details about his private life. The court had previously heard that Uddin was not openly homosexual and that he "didn't feel comfortable" with his family knowing his sexuality.

Giving evidence in his own defence for the first time, Uddin told jurors he considered the threats to be illegal. "I said to him everything he was saying is illegal… I didn't like the threats coming from him," he said.

Jurors were also shown messages in which Younis claimed he would "teach you a lesson never to forget."

Earlier contact at victim's workplace

Security camera footage, previously shown to the court, captured both men at the entrance of Younis's place of work, a shop in the Bullring Shopping Centre. Uddin said he went there to reconcile. "I wanted to make up with him… just as friends," he told the court, adding that he had raised concerns about messages sent the previous night. Younis reportedly told him to return during his break.

Defending Uddin, Martin Rutherford KC asked whether his client had previously seen Younis in an "angry and aggressive mood." The trial at Birmingham Crown Court continues.

Source: Google News IE — Crime (en)