AN alleged ‘murder victim’ was warned by a friend that Oxford was a ‘dangerous place’ hours before his death, a jury has heard.

A trial has started at Oxford Crown Court where Scarlet Blake, 25, of Crotch Crescent, Marston, stands charged with the murder of Jorge Carreno.

The 30-year-old Spanish man was found dead at Parsons Pleasure, a popular naked male bathing spot near the centre of Oxford, on July 26, 2021.

Live coverage of the trial here: LIVE: Murder trial of Jorge Carreno continues into day 2

For two years, police had no leads on what had happened with Mr Carreno, a BMW Plant worker, and an inquest ruled his death as ‘open-ended’ due to a lack of evidence.

However, Blake was arrested in August last year with prosecutor Alison Morgan KC telling a jury police believe she may have strangled Mr Carreno before pushing him into the water.

Blake has denied the charge.

The trial on Thursday (February 8) heard that Mr Carreno had been out drinking with friends on the evening on July 25, 2021.

While in a pub, he received a message from a friend urging him to be careful as ‘Oxford is a dangerous place’.

READ MORE: Jury see strangulation video showing murder-accused's 'sexual fascination'

She also sent him a link to a news article about an attempted murder.

Mr Carreno responded with a smiley face emoji. He was found dead 36 hours later by a dog walker.

The trial continues.