A man accused of beating and stabbing his boss to death had seen his personal and working life "spiralling out of control" before the alleged murder, a court has been told.
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Jordan Theodore Van Doorn, 31, pleaded not guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Monday to the murder of Khalil Ibrahim, 59, on October 8, 2021.
Mr Ibrahim's body was found at Van Doorn's house in the eastern Brisbane suburb of Cannon Hill after the business owner had visited at 1pm that day to deliver a pay cheque to the accused for his work as a concreter.
Crown prosecutor Chris Cook told the jury that Van Doorn "unexpectedly and viciously" attacked Mr Ibrahim by stabbing him with a knife and hitting him with a shifter wrench about the head, face and neck within 23 minutes of arriving.
The jury was shown the wrench and large kitchen knife.
Mr Cook said Mr Ibrahim had no defensive injuries to his upper arms while Van Doorn had a few injuries to his right hand and face.
"(Van Doorn) inflicted serious violence on Mr Ibrahim, who was probably incapacitated before he could defend himself," he said.
Mr Cook said Van Doorn's colleagues and neighbours had seen him become paranoid after his pregnant partner left him, he lost a lot of money via online gambling and he was sacked from another job for poor performance and abusive behaviour.
"Mr Ibrahim might have confronted Mr Van Doorn about work performance and a job that was not done," Mr Cook said.
"He might have refused to pay him in full as he had not put a dollar amount on the cheque for Mr Van Doorn."
Mr Cook said Van Doorn's claim of self-defence was "implausible and untruthful" given he took a shower and left his home rather than provide any assistance to Mr Ibrahim before calling a co-worker and heading to his parents' house instead.
Justice Tom Sullivan told jurors they would consider whether or not to find Van Doorn guilty of manslaughter if they decided he was not guilty of murder.
Mr Van Doorn's barrister Scott Lynch said there was no issue that Mr Ibrahim was dead and that his client had killed him.
Mr Lynch told the jury when it looked at the evidence it would see signs of a "very intense struggle" and that Van Doorn's injuries and his statement that Mr Ibrahim grabbed his penis after launching a surprise attack were consistent with self-defence.
"You will see pretty graphic pornography on (Mr Ibrahim's phone), transvestite-type porn and pregnant women and you will also see photographs taken I suggest to you by (Mr Ibrahim) of his workers without shirts on," Mr Lynch said.
Mr Lynch told jurors their common sense would lead them to find Van Doorn acted in lawful self-defence and his actions after Mr Ibrahim's death were influenced by a state of panic.
The prosecution is due to present its witnesses and expert evidence by Friday this week.
Australian Associated Press
