Neighbour told court South Shields machete murder accused Ross Miller had an 'aggressive demeanour'

Police at the scene.Police at the scene.
Police at the scene.
A man on trial for a gruesome machete murder had an "aggressive demeanour about him", according to a neighbour.

Ross Miller is accused of killing his friend Brandon Lee, 24, who suffered more than 100 injuries in an attack in the early hours of May 12.

Mr Lee died as a result of stab wounds to his neck and chest and suffered "60 separate actions from a sharp-edged weapon or weapons including chopping, stabbing and potentially slashing", jurors have heard.

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Prosecutors claim Ross Miller carried out the violence at his home, while his brother Garry Miller assisted or encouraged the attack, with "murderous intent".

Brandon LeeBrandon Lee
Brandon Lee

Ross Miller, 23, of Victoria Road, South Shields and Garry, 26, of Beach Road, South Shields, both deny murder and are being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

Alison McLean has today told jurors she was a neighbour of Ross Miller and had heard him threatening other visitors at his flat.

She told jurors: "He was always swearing and shouting a lot at people that came into his flat.

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"When he spoke to me on the stairs of the flats he had an aggressive demeanour about him, his eyes."

Ms McLean said Miller had chased people down the stairs at his block and said: "It was like every other night he would say he was going to stab them".

She told the court: "When people would visit Ross I would hear shouting. It would seem he would get people to come over then would be really aggressive and say 'you're not getting out' and 'I'm going to knock you out'.

"I would hear the person running down the metal stairs."

Ms McLean said she had been unwell on the night of the alleged murder and had slept in her living room.

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She said she heard nothing but realised later that the police were in attendance.

Jurors have been shown body worn camera footage from inside Miller's flat when the police arrived at the scene.

Ross Miller was sitting on the sofa in the living room and Mr Lee's body was on the floor.

The trial continues.

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