Man on trial for allegedly strangling an older man to death during sex game
Daniel Kurmelovs met Frank Lennon in Manchester's Gay Village last year
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
An 18-year-old man faces allegations of murder after allegedly strangling an older man to death during a sex game.
Daniel Kurmelovs met 53-year-old Frank Lennon in Manchester’s Gay Village in July last year where the older man asked the 18 year old to strangle him for ‘masochistic pleasure’, the Manchester Evening News reported.
The two went back to Lennon’s flat in Collyhurst, where he lived alone after the death of his long-term partner.
A jury heard when the victim asked Kurmelovs – who identifies as bisexual – to choke up, he allegedly refused but then accepted.
Kurmelovs strangled Lennon – who was face down on the floor – with his hands about five or six times ‘on and off’ before using a scarf.
The defendant claimed Lennon told him ‘not to stop’ but he then ‘just hit the floor’.
“I was strangling him then letting go,” Kurmelovs said.
“I didn’t realise I had gone too far. He just hit the floor. He weren’t moving. I checked his pulse and he was dead.”
However, prosecutors have claimed that Lennon was murdered due to further injuries he suffered including broke ribs, cuts to his right ear and a ransacked apartment.
A pathologist confirmed that the cut to his ear was inflicted after his death and Kurmelovs said he did it to ‘check if he was still alive’.
He then said: “Then I just got really, really angry and annoyed. That’s when I ransacked the place.”
Kurmelovs – who denies the murder charge saying it was an accident – allegedly stole Lennon’s watch, crucifix neck chain and 5,000 cigarettes that he had bought in Spain.
Lennon’s siblings found him the next day.
The trial continues.