Teesside Crown Court heard that Callum Howe allegedly attacked Shaan Rasul – a friend since primary school – in a drug-fuelled rage before jumping out of a window
A man from Hartlepool is on trial accused of murdering his friend by repeatedly striking him in the face with an axe.
Callum Howe is alleged to have attacked Shaan Rasul, a friend since primary school, in a drug-induced frenzy, in the early hours of Sunday, November 23, last year.
Mohammed Shaan Ali Rasul, known to loved ones as Shaan, was discovered lying on the floor of Howe’s bedroom in his flat in Allerton Close, Dyke House, Hartlepool, by police. Paramedics attempted to revive the 23-year-old, but a jury at Teesside Crown Court heard that he was “most likely already dead”.
On Wednesday, prosecutor Peter Makepeace informed the court that prior to Mr Rasul’s body being found, Howe had “jumped out of his first floor bedroom window”. The prosecution barrister stated that Howe was caught on CCTV colliding with cars and repeatedly falling over on Allerton Close, a quiet cul-de-sac near the town’s Dyke House Academy school.
“He was out of control, asking for help, and behaving in an extraordinary manner,” said Mr Makepace, informing the jury that Howe’s neighbour called for an ambulance.
Police entered the defendant’s second floor flat, after restraining him to get him into the ambulance. “In the bedroom, from where Callum Howe had jumped, they found Shaan Rasul,” Mr Makepeace said. “He had very obvious, massive facial injuries.”, reports Teesside Live.
“He was pronounced dead at 11.36am. An axe was recovered from beside the bedroom window. He had been repeatedly axed in the face”.
Howe had already been taken into custody – accused of assaulting a paramedic, after he had “become aggressive towards” an ambulance worker, the court was told. “He was arrested for a second time on suspicion of murder,” Mr Makepace stated.
The jury viewed CCTV footage, which the prosecution claimed depicted a “wild-eyed” Howe kneeling on some grass on the street where he resided, with his face pressed into the ground. The footage showed him rising and staggering, with blood on his face – before he was apprehended. He bumps into a car and says, “help me” to a worried neighbour.
Mr Makepeace informed the court that Howe had 15grams of cocaine in his pocket; and that he was escorted by the police to the University Hospital of North Tees to be treated for “minor injuries from jumping out of the window”.
“His eyes were massively dilated and his heart was racing,” Mr Makepeace said, as the jury watched additional footage of Howe, lying on a hospital bed, with nurses surrounding him.
In the footage, a police officer standing nearby, says: “You don’t know what you were arrested for? You were arrested, a short while ago, on suspicion of murder.” Howe can be heard to respond: “He’s dead?”
The court heard that Howe was returned to the police station, before he complained of feeling sick, and he was taken to James Cook University Hospital. “He said he had had his head banged a few times,” Mr Makepeace told the court. At the hospital, he asked: ‘How long do you get for murder? My life is f***** at 22-years-old.'”
“But he was much less talkative when interviewed by the police,” the prosecution barrister added. The jury were told that Howe refused to answer police questions, but that his solicitor later handed over a prepared statement, on behalf of his client.
The statement was read out to the jury. In it, Howe said that he and Mr Rasul, and another mate, had been “taking a lot of drugs”. He said that Mr Rasul had been “acting in a strange manner” and tried to let his dog in the bedroom. Howe said he was attempting to keep the bedroom door shut because the dog “was aggressive and I thought it might attack me”, the court heard from the statement.
“Mr Rasul repeatedly punched me,” Mr Makepace read from Howe’s statement. “He began chasing me around the room with the hatchet. I begged him to stop but he was shouting the dog’s name. The dog was agitated. I tried to hold him by the throat to get him off me. I got the hatchet off him, but he grabbed it back.”
“I couldn’t stop his attack. It was frenzied. It is likely that my action’s led to Shaan’s death and I acted in self defence”. Howe, currently residing at Blakelock Gardens in Hartlepool, refutes the murder charges. The trial continues…
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