Man accused of killing boyfriend in Newcastle was 'aggressive and manipulative', court hears

An ex-partner of the man accused of killing a student has told a court he had made threats to kill him.

Aaron Ray denies the murder of Jason Brockbanks, who was a student at Northumbria University.

Mr Brockbanks, 24, from Whitehaven, was found dead in a shower cubicle in the flat of his Mansion Tyne accommodation block in Newcastle last September.

Ray, from Sunderland, is standing trial for his murder at Newcastle Crown Court. It is alleged the 21-year-old killed Mr Brockbanks after discovering intimate messages he had sent to other men.

Jurors have heard evidence from an ex-partner of Ray, who described him as aggressive and manipulative and said he had threatened to kill him.

He had also installed applications on his phone to check if he was cheating on him, the court heard.

Giving evidence on video, he claimed Ray had thrown his phone and launched at him as they stayed at Ray’s parents house. Describing Ray as manipulative he said he later made threats to kill him and his family and had written offensive language in his front door.

“When he was drunk. That’s when he would punch me,” he said. He added Ray was a different person when he was drunk.

At another point in the evidence he claimed Ray “said he would kill me, he would kill my mum, my grandma. My family.”

Under cross examination the witness was accused of trying to get Ray to use strong cannabis weed and accused of being a very manipulative individual himself. He denied that claim.

On Tuesday, the court heard from another former boyfriend of Ray, who said he had been woken up on holiday in Benidorm by Ray, who was screaming at him and accusing him of cheating on him.

The trial continues.

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