Sydney prisoner Nick Karayiannis was able to stop his cellmate from killing himself once, but his actions may have led to him being strangled by the man he saved, an inquest has heard.
The 41-year-old father-of-three was found dead in his cell with TV cords wrapped around his neck and his hands tied to the bed during a head count at Silverwater Prison's remand centre on April 1, 2013.
His cellmate Tien Tran, 47, was found hanging from the window beside him.
"It (the murder) is presumed to have occurred as a result of Mr Karayiannis having successfully stopped Mr Tran (from) taking his own life previously," counsel assisting Sergeant Erika Mulligan told the inquest.
Former prisoner Melih Basturk told the court that he was watching a movie at around 10.30pm on March 31 when he heard "screaming and banging noises" from the cell next door.
"I heard a few screams and thumping... it sounded like it was a fight," he told Glebe Coroner's Court.
Basturk said he didn't alert prison officers because "if you dobbed in a fight, you would get in trouble".
The inquest heard officers could not recall who was responsible for doing the safety check of the pod where Karayiannis and Tran were held, and the next guard check was not expected till 6am the next morning.
In the weeks leading up to the murder-suicide, Karayiannis had also told his daughters, a lawyer and a friend that he had stopped Tran from killing himself.
Friend Bellal El Saadi said Karayiannis told him that he'd informed prison staff about the incident but they had "laughed it off".
"He was pretty anxious about it. He wasn't happy, he knew something was wrong (with Tran)," Mr El Saadi told the court.
There was no report of a complaint or suicide attempt on either of the men's files, Detective Senior Constable Michael Roberts, who investigated the case, told the inquest.
The court also heard that Tran had been diagnosed with slight depression when he entered the jail.
He was cleared during a mental health assessment a week later however after he was found to be "friendly, reactive" and "logical".
The inquest before Deputy State Coroner Hugh Dillon continues.
* Readers seeking support and information about suicide prevention can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or the Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467.
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