A killer who strangled his homeless friend is facing life behind bars after being found guilty of murder.
Trevor Brazier, 48, got so annoyed at 38-year-old Kevin Tridgell for dozing off that he choked him to death.
The pair had gone back to Brazier's flat on June 1 last year and were drinking until the early hours the following day.
Brazier - who was pictured weeping in his custody suite image - called an ambulance for Mr Tridgell but gave conflicting accounts telling emergency services his pal was unconscious but also that he was drunk and brawling.
Police turned up at the property in Margate, Kent, and found Mr Tridgell drunk and passed out.
Brazier asked them to take Mr Tridgell away - saying he had to be up for work - but officers refused.
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Then at 3.38am he phoned police again and they returned, but said they "didn't have the powers" to remove Mr Tridgell.
An hour later a worried neighbour phoned Kent Police to say they heard Brazier shouting at someone and another person apologising to him.
Brazier made his third call to officers telling them he had killed Mr Tridgell in self-defence after he "had been attacked with a knife".
Mr Tridgell was taken to hospital but could not be saved and died from his injuries the following day.
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A jury found Brazier guilty of murdering rough sleeper Mr Tridgell at Maidstone Crown Court in Kent yesterday.
Police released balding Brazier's mugshot, in which he is seen with his lips pouted as he wells up.
He is due to be sentenced tomorrow.
Detective Constable Jo Bird, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Our officers had spoken to Brazier several times earlier that night, explaining the right course of action for his friend was to be allowed to sleep until the morning.
"Mr Tridgell had not shown any signs of causing issues, and in fact had not woken during previous visits to the flat by emergency services.
"But, fuelled by alcohol, Brazier instead attacked the man he had earlier invited into his home and it had only tragic consequences."
