A man accused of murder had previously threatened to kill his alleged victim, a witness has told a jury.
Gary Daniel said the threat was not taken seriously at the time and the alleged victim, Christopher Penman, had laughed it off.
Awat Akram (26) denies murdering Mr Penman (58) at his home in Somerfield Walk, Beaumont Leys, Leicester, on February 22.
The prosecution alleges Akram broke into the house and stabbed Mr Penman 23 times, in a jealous rage, as he slept in bed.
Akram, of Beaumanor Road, near Abbey Park Road, Leicester, denies murder.
He and Mr Penman were both in on-off relationships with a woman, Elaine Bourke, who is in her late 40s, Leicester Crown Court has been told.
The "triangular relationship" allegedly caused tension between them and Akram could not accept it when Ms Bourke left him before Christmas to return to Mr Penman.
Mr Penman was deaf, as are Akram and Ms Bourke. They had all communicated by sign language.
The witness, Mr Daniel, who also lives in Somerfield Walk and was a close friend of the alleged victim, said he would often see Akram, Mr Penman and Ms Bourke together at a nearby pub – the Keeper's Lodge – and at Gala bingo evenings.
He said some time before Christmas there was an argument between the three in the pub.
Mr Daniel, who is also deaf, alleged Akram became angry and said in sign language: "I'm going to kill you, Chris," and made a stabbing gesture.
He said: "Chris laughed a bit at this and that was the end of it."
Under cross-examination, he said: "I didn't see all the argument but most of it was about Elaine not being able to choose between Awat and Chris.
"Chris was lovely and respectful and had a good heart, but Awat was very abusive."
Mr Daniel agreed with a defence suggestion that Akram had also, that evening, talked about having seen atrocities in Iraq, his homeland.
He said: "Awat was talking about the war, landmines and people being shot. He talked about his parents being hanged and him seeing that, and I felt sorry for him. It was upsetting."
When asked by defence counsel if he was sure Akram made a death threat to Chris, or could he have been confused by the conversation about Iraq, Mr Daniel answered: "Possibly."
Another prosecution witness, Gulnaaz Kasmani, also deaf, recalled a conversation at a coffee shop with Akram several days before the alleged murder.
By this time, Mr Penman and Ms Bourke had sought refuge in a safe house in Loughborough to escape Akram – who had been harassing them with texts and insisting Ms Bourke reconcile with him.
Ms Kasmani said Akram was "frustrated and angry" and she tried to calm him down.
She alleged that Akram said "I want to kill Chris", as he was ignoring his text messages.
"I told him not to be silly," she said.
Mr Penman's body was discovered on the late afternoon of Saturday, February 22.
At 8.30pm the same day, Akram attended the cordoned-off area outside Mr Penman's house and approached police.
Sergeant Simon Palfreyman told the jury: "I tried to ask him what he wanted and he put his finger to his ear and mouth, indicating he couldn't speak."
Akram was arrested at the scene.
The trial resumes on Wednesday.
