TWO brothers who allegedly murdered a newsagent in the street on his way to work had been stopped by police only 15 minutes earlier, a trial heard today.

Sam McKinley and Jon McKinley were seen acting aggressively in Eastleigh town centre in the hour before they are alleged to have killed Choudhry Zishan outside his High Street home at around 4.30am on March 30.

Winchester Crown Court heard that the brothers were spoken to by police officers near Leigh Road recreation ground but the encountered ended with the brothers shaking officers' hands and wandering off, said Andrew Langdon QC, prosecuting, this afternoon.

Sam McKinley, 25, of no fixed address, and Jon McKinley, 23, of Devon Drive, Chandler's Ford, both deny murder.

Mr Langdon, opening the prosecution case for the jury said: “What happens next to Mr Zishan at the hands of the McKinley brothers is as bewildering as it is deeply shocking.

“What may have begun as a robbery turns into gratuitous and sustained violence going far beyond what was necessary to steal from him.”

Mr Langdon said the brothers had been drinking during the evening at The Litten Tree pub on Eastleigh High Street.

He said witnesses would give evidence that the brothers were “spoiling for a fight”.

Mr Langdon said they were backing each other up with verbal threats against other people.

“'If any of you hit my brother you will have to deal with me', words attributed to Jon McKinley,” said Mr Langdon.

The jury saw extensive CCTV footage from cameras throughout the town centre during the evening of March 29 and the early hours of March 30.

They saw the two brothers walking home and meeting by chance Mr Zishan as he walked to his 54-reg BMW to drive to one of his newsagents' shops in Southampton.

Grainy footage of the fatal incident was shown to the jury. Mr Langdon QC has not yet said exactly what happened or how Mr Zishan died. The prosecution opening will continue tomorrow.

The trial has heard he lived with his wife Sabine and their five-year-old son in a flat above one of his shops, called Newsmarket, in Eastleigh High Street.

His wife was expecting their second child.

The trial, before a five-woman and seven-man jury, is due to last for four weeks.

Proceeding