'I can't explain to our three kids why their father was stabbed to death', says wife of murder victim

The widow of a man stabbed to death on his front lawn by a neighbour has said she will never be able to explain to their three children why he was killed.

Sarah Boorman was wounded herself as she tried to save husband Matthew Boorman, 43, after he was stabbed by Can Arslan, 52, as he walked to his front door in Walton Cardiff, near Tewkesbury, in Gloucestershire.

Arslan then forced his way into the home of another neighbour, Peter Marsden, where he stabbed him eight times before he was eventually stopped by a group of locals who cornered him until police arrived.

Arslan denied murder, pleading guilty instead to a lesser charge of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, but was convicted after a trial in April and jailed for life with a minimum term of 38 years at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday.

Footage had showed Arslan laughing as he was being arrested, telling police: "I warned you".

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In a victim impact statement, Boorman described her husband as a "good, honest and kind man who never fell out with anybody" and a devoted father who "enjoyed all parts of parenting".

The couple's three children, then aged 12, seven and two, were in their house during the attack, with the eldest running to shut his siblings in the lounge to protect them.

"I struggle to explain to Matt’s biggest fans, his children," Boorman said. "They don’t understand why a bad man would want to hurt their daddy so much they can’t ever see him again."

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The court heard Arslan had subjected people in the area to 12 years of threats and abuse and had recently learned he was to be evicted for his behaviour.

Boorman described how her family had endured years of him threatening to rape and murder them, as well as verbally abusing them.

She said life was like "living in the middle of a war zone, we were always on edge about what was going to happen".

She thanked neighbours who had tried to save her husband and tackle Arslan, saying: "Many of them were people I had never met before.

"I didn’t know their names and I didn’t know if they had families waiting for them, but they came to help me and tried to save Matt by selflessly running towards danger.

"These strangers, with kindness and love, came to my rescue.”

Boorman’s family had previously criticised the "toothless" response by police and other agencies in response to the years of abuse and threats from Arslan.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has opened an investigation into Gloucestershire Police’s actions in light of the fact many incidents had been reported in the run-up to his attack on Boorman.

The IOPC said on Thursday: "As part of our investigation to date, we have served a misconduct notice on one police constable in relation to their contact with Mr Arslan.

"Such notices advise an officer their conduct is subject to investigation and do not necessarily mean any disciplinary proceedings will follow.

"Our independent investigation began in November following a mandatory referral from Gloucestershire Constabulary straight after Mr Boorman’s death about prior police contact, and subsequent referrals of complaints."