In the months before Nabil Naser was murdered in front of horrified Sydney shoppers, he complained to police and family that his killer had made death threats, a court has heard.
Mr Naser, 41, died on the floor of Parramatta's Westfield on July 7, 2014, after he was stabbed multiple times by his former wife's new husband Kazem Mohamadi Payam.
Crown prosecutor Terry Thorpe told Payam's Supreme Court sentence hearing on Wednesday that significant animosity had built up between the pair following the breakdown of Mr Naser's relationship with his former wife, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
In March 2014, the court heard that Payam and Mr Naser made counter claims against one another.
Payam and his wife took an AVO against Mr Naser, while Mr Naser complained to police that Payam had warned, "Nabil, you know me, I kill".
On Tuesday, Mr Naser's cousin Khalid Mohammad told Payam's sentence hearing he had also raised concerns with him over death threats.
In the year before his death, Mr Mohammad said his cousin claimed Payam stated: "I'm going to cut your head off".
However this was ruled as hearsay by Acting Justice Jane Mathews and will not be taken into account when Payam is sentenced.
Whatever the circumstances leading up to the killing, what happened on that day was captured by CCTV.
Footage from within the centre shows Payam enter the complex at around 9.30am before going to Woolworths where he buys a knife.
He conceals this in the left sleeve of his jacket before meeting Mr Naser around an hour later.
Shoppers later described how their conversation appeared friendly at first but soon after yelling and screaming broke out.
Payam is captured grabbing Mr Naser around his back, throwing him to the ground and stabbing him at least four times.
He then sits down, before beginning the attack again, this time stabbing Mr Naser twice.
In the next 10 minutes before his arrest, Payam continues to intermittently attack Mr Naser's body.
At one point - after lighting a cigarette - he appears to kick Mr Naser in the upper body.
Horrified bystanders could hear Payem tell his wife over the phone: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I love you".
He later told police he didn't intend to kill Mr Naser, saying he had only bought the knife on the spur of the moment.
"I swear to God that I didn't want to kill him, I don't know what happened. He provoked me, said very rude things," Payam claimed.
His matter will return to court for further sentencing submissions at a later date.
National domestic violence helpline: 1800 737 732 or 1800RESPECT. In an emergency call triple-zero.
