A homeless man was jailed for life yesterday for murdering a friend who refused to lend him his mobile phone.
Birmingham Crown Court was told that John Garner was arrested after his victim, Andrew Tyman, named the 49-year-old as his attacker as he lay dying of a knife wound which pierced his liver.
Garner, who was ordered to serve at least 18 years for the killing after pleading guilty, had been released on licence from a sentence for wounding just 13 months before the murder in Rushden, Northants, last year.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Brian Escott-Cox QC described how Mr Tyman was confronted by Garner in a corridor outside his flat in Southfields, Rushden, in the early hours of April 30.
Mr Tyman was stabbed after he refused to allow Garner, who was drunk, to use his mobile to call his brother.
The 39-year-old drug user died at Kettering General Hospital about eight hours after being stabbed with a kitchen knife.
Garner refused to answer detectives' questions about the killing, but the victim's blood was later found on his footwear.
Shortly before the killing at about 2am, Garner was heard banging on the windows of Mr Tyman's ground floor flat.
A neighbour then heard two men quarrelling and discovered Mr Tyman lying injured after he shouted out her name.
The court heard that the victim then told a police officer: "John Garner came to my flat and he wanted to ring his brother on a mobile phone.
"I said he couldn't and he stabbed me." ..SUPL:
