A young man was fatally stabbed in the neck just moments after being asked for a lighter by his killer.
Jacob Billington was on a night out with friends in Birmingham, 24, when he was approached by Zephaniah McLeod on September 6, 2020.
The attacker asked the 23-year-old and his pal Michael Callaghan if they had a lighter he could borrow but they replied: “No, sorry mate”.
McLeod, 28, then launched his unprovoked attack - killing Jacob and leaving Michael with horrific, long-lasting injuries, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Speaking to ITV News, Michael, who spent 187 days in hospital, recalled how he heard a scream just seconds after speaking to McLeod.
He said: “This man McLeod came up to me and Jacob and asked us if we had a lighter, and we both said, 'no sorry mate'.
"My memory then is that I heard a scream, which must have been Jacob, and then I put my hand to my neck and I could feel the wound.
"I kind of followed Jacob to where he collapsed."
Michael fell into the arms of another friend, who was able to stem his bleeding and save his life.
However, the knife had severed Michael's carotid artery, jugular vein and vagus nerve.
While in hospital, Michael suffered a stroke and surgeons had to perform a craniectomy - an operation to remove part of the skull.
He was then put in an induced coma for three weeks.
His left arm is paralysed, he struggles to talk because of the damage to his vocal cords and he is awaiting an operation to replace the missing part of his skull.
Michael added: "Obviously I’ve had a lot of injuries, but in time my skull will be fixed, my arm will come back and my voice will be fixed. I’ll recover, but we can’t get Jacob back.”
Michael and Jacob had been friends throughout their schooldays at Great Crosby Primary School and Sacred Heart Catholic College.
They then attended university together in Sheffield and formed a band, The Vedetts, with other friends, with Michael the lead singer and guitarist, and Jacob the drummer.
Jacob had been working at Sheffield Hallam University while Michael, an engineering graduate, had recently started a job with the NHS on Merseyside.
Last month, Zephaniah McLeod pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Jacob Billington.
He also admitted several linked charges in connection with seven other people injured in the same incident.
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