LONDON, ENGLAND — A man depressed by baldness arranged for a friend to kill him after an operation on his testicles failed to stop his hair loss, a court heard on Monday.

He "picked up a notion" that the operation on his testicles would stop his hair loss.

A prosecutor told the court in the southwestern English city of Bristol that Barry Palmer, 50, had "picked up a notion that if he had a surgical operation on his testicles, that would stop his hair falling out."

He said Palmer persuaded a surgeon to carry out the operation a year ago, but did not specify what it involved.

Desperate over the failure of the treatment, Palmer arranged for Brett Cooper, 17, to smother him to death after giving him tablets to make him drowsy, the court heard. Palmer was found dead in his garage.

Cooper denied murder.