A confused stranger had his throat slashed on a freezing cold Christmas night and was left in a pool of blood on his drunken attacker's doorstep, a court heard today.
Inderjit Singh, 36,(pictured) was lost and searching for a concerned friend's flat when he knocked on the wrong door in the early hours of Christmas Day, last year.
"Inderjit Singh was murdered in very brutal circumstances. He had his throat slit," prosecutor Miss Rosa Dean told the Croydon Crown Court jury.
Sheet metal worker David Folley, 34, of 28 Calshot Walk, Bedford has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr. Singh on December 25, last year and attempting to murder Norman Grant on May 29 while on remand at Wood Hill Prison, Milton Keynes.
The court heard Mr. Singh - known as 'Raj' - had been given the address of 82 Calshot Walk by a friend concerned about him being alone on Christmas night.
"Neighbours of Mr. Folley heard a man knocking and clearly frustrated that he could not get in," explained Miss Dean.
After sleeping on the defendant's doorstep to shelter from heavy snowfall Mr. Singh attended a local carol service at a Methodist church then returned to the flat.
"This time his mistake proved fatal," said the prosecutor.
"In that time after Mr. Folley had come back from the pub and found a drunk and disorientated Mr. Singh outside his flat he went inside, got a kitchen knife, went outside and killed Mr. Singh.
"He cleaned the knife and put it in a Tesco's carrier bag and put it in the bin area."
Folley told police he found Mr. Singh lying in a pool of blood when he arrived home and had nothing to do with the attack.
"He was not to know there were tiny spots of blood on his jeans, airborne blood, that puts Mr. Folley there at the time of the killing of Mr. Singh."
The isolated victim had spent Christmas Eve riding the buses of Bedford after finding a pass and was given the key to a flat in Calshot Walk by a kind friend.
The emergency services were only alerted when Folley rang 118 118 to find out the local police station number.
"In that call he said he needed an ambulance to come. There was a man outside his flat in a pool of blood and he did not know if he was dead or alive," explained Miss Dean.
Folley later changed his story, claiming he went inside to think about it after discovering the injured Mr. Singh.
After being charged with murder and remanded in custody the defendant "launched an attack on a fellow inmate" added Miss Dean.
He was pulled off the victim by prison officers, but minutes later shouted: "I'm going to kill someone, I'm going to kill someone."
Trial continues...............