A takeaway boss died when he was tied up and suffocated during a robbery at one of his businesses, a jury heard.
Dogan Dogan, 50, was found dead in a bed-sit above Aladdin's takeaway, in Linton Street, Evington, Leicester, on January 8 this year.
Mr Dogan owned the business and another takeaway, Pizzaman, in Church Street, Lutterworth.
At Birmingham Crown Court this week three men – Wali Khan (32), Naveed Naveed (28) and Sarwar Gader (35), all of Leicester – went on trial charged with Mr Dogan's murder.
Prosecution barrister Gordon Aspden said Mr Dogan's body was found by two members of staff, who arrived at Aladdin's for work on January 8.
Mr Dogan's hands and feet were tied with yellow twine and a towel and clothing had been tied over his face, which had suffocated him and caused his death, the court heard. Three of his ribs were broken and the area around one of his eyes was bruised.
About £1,000 in takings from Aladdin's and Pizzaman was missing from the bed-sit.
Mr Aspden said Mr Dogan had been at his Lutterworth business throughout the evening of Saturday, January 7, and had left there shortly before 3am the following day. A CCTV camera captured him entering his bed-sit above Aladdin's at 3.29am – the last time he was seen alive.
The same CCTV camera filmed a car carrying three men driving away from Aladdin's at 4.23am. Mr Aspden said that car belonged to Naveed.
The car was tracked on CCTV driving around Leicester and police saw items being thrown from the vehicle, which turned out to be keys belonging to Mr Dogan and some latex gloves.
The court was told Naveed and Khan were arrested a week later and found to be in possession of Mr Dogan's phone. Gader was arrested about a week after that.
Different accounts were given by all three men during police interviews, the court heard.
Yesterday, Johnny Booker, who was the manager of Pizzaman, told the court Mr Dogan was in high spirits and in a "very happy" mood just hours before his death.
He said he spent the evening working with Mr Dogan, whom he described as a "hard- working and nice man", before his boss left in the early hours to go back to his Leicester flat.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of Mr Dogan leaving Pizzaman and travelling back through Leicester to Aladdin's.
Also shown was CCTV footage recorded about an hour later of a VW Passat – which the prosecution say was carrying the three defendants – driving away from Linton Street towards the M1.
The jury was told the three defendants travelled to Luton, where they spent a few hours, and were later caught on CCTV again buying food at a takeaway at Leicester.
The defendants never offered any explanation as to why they had gone to Luton only to come back 12 hours later.
Dr Stuart Hamilton, a forensic pathologist, said Mr Dogan had suffered a number of injuries during an attack, including the three broken ribs which, he said, looked as if they had been inflicted by kicking.
He also said Mr Dogan had been heavily gagged with several layers of cloth.
A neurosurgeon who examined Mr Dogan's brain said he would have died within about 35 minutes of being gagged.
Gader, of Gleneagles Avenue, Rushey Mead, and Khan and Naveed, both of St Stephen's Road, Highfields, deny murder.
The trial continues.
