Prosecutors will set out to prove a Brisbane man killed his flatmate by putting him in a headlock after "tension" over rent payments became physical, a court has been told.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Aaron Llewellyn Jones pleaded not guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday to the manslaughter of Joel Russell Charlesworth, 30, on March 27, 2016.
A pathologist said Mr Charlesworth had serious underlying medical conditions before the altercation, the court was told.
These included issues with his lungs and a coronary artery disease which included an 85 per cent blockage of an artery,
"There is a saying in law, you take your victim as you find them," prosecutor Nigel Rees told the jury.
Mr Charlesworth was employed as a labourer when he moved into the Murarrie house but subsequently lost the job and fell behind on rent, the court was told.
This caused issues between Jones and Mr Charlesworth and came to a head just before midnight on March 26, when the conflict became physical.
The court was told a woman in an upstairs room heard screaming and yelling and what she thought sounded like a scuffle.
She then heard the words "come on mate" and sounds consistent with CPR.
The court was told Jones called triple zero, telling the operators he had knocked Mr Charlesworth out. He was not able to be revived.
Police spoke with Jones, who he said the pair had been in an altercation.
"He said he got Joel (Charlesworth) in a headlock to stop himself from getting hit. He said he held him in a headlock as long as he could," Mr Rees told the court.
"He felt that he hit Joel in the face pretty well once, and that Joel (Charlesworth) hit him in the forehead once as well."
Mr Rees said later, in a police interview, Jones said he got Mr Charlesworth into a headlock and held him up against a wall.
He said the pair eventually fell to the ground and Jones could hear Mr Charlesworth "taking short breaths and snorting".
Mr Rees said the Crown would attempt to prove that the headlock was the significant cause of death.
The trial continues.
Australian Associated Press