The man accused of bludgeoning a 51-year-old man to death shouted “I am a psychopath” while being arrested, a court heard.

But Malachi Lindo, 26, of Bowles Green, Enfield, denies killing Phillip Steels, who died of severe head injuries in the early hours of Thursday, September 4, in Green Street, Enfield.

At the Old Bailey today, prosecutor Anthony Orchard read witness statements describing incidents from the night of the incident.

In a statement to police, eye witness Sicilia Courdron said: “I saw a dark bundle on the floor which was clearly a body.

“I tried to speak to him but no response, the second male was walking down the centre of the road, and the PC told him to lie down and roll over and put his hands on the small of his back. As I did this he said ‘I wanted to be in heaven, let me die.’ I ran back to the victim to make sure if I could do anything.”

There was also a statement from PC Martin in which he claims Mr Lindo shouted “I am a psychopath” and spat at a police officer.

He said: “I could see Mr Lindo’s hands, are you hurt, he said “yes, my whole body hurts, I am a psychopath.

“He started saying he wanted to go heaven and he wanted to die. He then spat towards PC Kingham and then claimed to have Aids.

“When at the police station he said “Can I go home and rest, I won’t kill again I promise.” To which I said ‘excuse me?’”.

The court then heard from its first witness, a friend of Mr Lindo called Effy Igbasi who told the court that they had both been smoking cannabis before the incident, and claimed Mr Lindo had become “confrontational”.

He said: “His persona deteriorated and became more and more confrontational. His behaviour was in appropriate, very unlike him.

“When sitting on the bed, he thought he was gay, then he said he was gay, then stared at me like he wanted a reaction or he was just trying to create some sort of altercation. He then spoke about using different hemispheres of his brains and asked me if his mum and sister are devils.”

Mr Igbasi also described Mr Lindo as “quiet, intelligent and generous” and said that his behaviour that night was out of character, leading up to the incident.

The court will now hear this afternoon about DNA evidence in relation to what Mr Lindo may have taken that evening.