Ex-partner of Sunderland murder accused tells court of cheating accusations in Benidorm

Aaron Ray is on trial accused of stabbing university student Jason Brockbanks' to death after finding sexual messages with other men on his phone last September.

Mr Brockbanks' body was discovered at private student accommodation Mansion Tyne halls, Howard Street, in Newcastle, three days after he was killed by Ray last September, it is claimed.

Ray, 21, of Mayfield Road, Sunderland, denies the murder of Mr Brockbanks, 24, who was from Whitehaven, Cumbria, and was a third-year student at Northumbria University.

He is being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court.

Jonathan Stokoe told jurors he was in a relationship with Ray and they went on holiday to Benidorm together, possibly last June.

Mr Stokoe said he and Ray split after an argument at the end of the holiday and told jurors: "We had been out the night before, enjoying our last day, we got pretty drunk.

"We ended up having an early night, we came back to the, it was like a B&B.

"I passed out, fell asleep, I didn't know what Aaron did after that.

"I got woken up to Aaron shouting at me, saying that he had seen messages on my phone, talking to other men, that I cheated on him, that I was sleeping with other people."

Mr Stokoe said they ended the relationship after the argument, had stayed friends for a while, followed by some fall outs but were back on good terms in the days before Mr Brockbanks died.

He told jurors on September 21 and 22 last year Ray spent the night at his home and left on the evening of September 23.

The court has heard Ray and Mr Brockbanks went out in Newcastle together on the night of September 23 and returned to the student flat in the city in the early hours of September 24, when he was killed.

Jurors have heard after the stabbing, Ray took the knife he had used in the killing into the communal kitchen then left the accommodation, walked to Newcastle Central Station and got a taxi from there to Sunderland.

Mr Stokoe said at 9.49am on September 24 he spoke to Ray over Facetime and added: "He had a balaclava on and some sunglasses, I believe."

Mr Stokoe said Ray was in bed at his home in Sunderland during the call and he told him he and Mr Brockbanks had fought.

He told the court: "(He said) he had found messages of Jason being at brothels and talking to other men.

"He said that Jason had threatened him with a knife .

"Aaron said he had grabbed it off Jason, told him to back off, put it down and then he said he left."

Mr Stokoe said he did not ask questions about whether anyone had been hurt during the row and added: "Anything Aaron came out with, we didn't really believe, anything."

Jurors have heard it was on September 27 Mr Brockbanks was found dead inside his flat by an accommodation manager who had been asked to check on his welfare.

A postmortem examination revealed he had a stab wound to his right abdomen, which was fatal, and two knife injuries to his back.

The trial continues.