Peterborough murder accused 'left stabbing victim to be found in pool of blood,' court told

A man accused of stabbing another man to death and leaving him to be found in a pool of blood has denied murder – but has accepted killing him, saying he acted in self defence, a court has been told.

Filippo Femminile (31) of Ellindon, Bretton has been charged with murdering 50-year-old Imran Bashir at Mr Bashir’s home in Gladstone Street, Peterborough, in February 2026.

On the opening day of the trial on Tuesday (September 8), a jury at Peterborough Crown Court heard how Mr Bashir was discovered in a pool of his own blood having been stabbed and slashed multiple times.

Femminile spoke only to confirm in his name and has been present in the dock next to an intermediary required due to his communication difficulties.

The court heard how Mr Bashir was found dead at his home close to the city centre at 10:30am on February 4 by his brother Tanvir.

The jury was told that Mr Bashir was discovered in a pool of his own blood having been stabbed and slashed multiple times. He suffered several sharp force injuries to his face, neck, hands, upper body and lower limbs.

Claire Matthews, prosecuting, said he also suffered fractured eye sockets that the prosecution stated were consistent with being punched in the face.

The prosecution told the court that it was the opinion of a post mortem report that Mr Bashir has been the victim of a ‘prolonged assault.’

The jury was told that the most severe wound suffered was a 13cm internal stab wound to his neck, which damaged both his left and right jugular veins.

The court was told there is no dispute from the defence that Femminile killed Mr Bashir. He has pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and his defence is advancing the argument that he acted in reasonable self defence.

The court heard that Mr Bashir was a drug user and regularly had drug users in his home. Femminile was known to the victim and his family by his nickname ‘Casino” and was a known regular visitor to his home.

Ms Matthews said that Mr Bashir, Femminile and a third man took a taxi together to the Bretton Centre at just after 7:30am on February 3 to allow Femminile to withdraw money. They returned to the property in Gladstone Street at just after 8am.

The court heard that Femminile was seen coming and going throughout the day before leaving at 4pm.

The jury heard that a man who lived at the same property as the defendant in Ellingdon told police that Femminile woke him upon returning home and he had a hand injury. Femminile told him that he had suffered the injury while holding a bottle that had smashed while he was riding a bike.

After making inquiries, officers arrived at Femminile’s home in Ellingdon to make the arrest and had to coax him down from the loft.

The court heard that he told officers at the scene: “He was trying to tried to cut all of my limbs off,’ ‘he threw a glass at me.’

The jury was told that the following day he was interviewed by police but declined to answer any of their questions.

In her opening, Ms Matthews said: “The prosecution will argue that Mr Femminile used a knife and/or his fists and feet with the clear intent to kill or cause very serious actual bodily harm. He must have discarded the weapon away from the scene as it was not found there.

"This is not a case of self-defence.

"Mr Femminile did not call 999 or raise the alarm. He fled, taking a phone with him and later sold it. A matter of hours after the attack, he arrived at an address in Walcott Walk and left his bloody clothes in the loft.

After arriving home in the early hours of February 4, he lied about an injury sustained to his hands and he hid in the loft where the police came to arrest him.”

Femminile denies murder. The trial continues.