Eastbourne man admits murdering Sabina Nessa

AN Eastbourne man has pleaded guilty to murdering primary school teacher Sabina Nessa at the Old Bailey on Friday (25), according to a media report. 

Koci Selamaj, 36, beat and strangled Nessa, 28, as she walked through a park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, on 17 September. He will be sentenced on 7 April, the BBC reported.

Nessa had left her home to meet a friend at a bar when she was targeted by Selamaj. She had been walking through Cator Park when she was attacked.

According to the report, Selamaj had no previous convictions and he also took a rolling pin to the murder scene.

At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said that the killing was carried out with 'extreme violence' and involved a sexual or sadistic element.

The court heard that CCTV showed Selamaj had spotted Nessa and checked to see if there was anyone else around.

Jebina Yasmin Islam, Sabina Nessa's sister, speaks at a candlelight vigil on September 24, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Rob Pinney/Getty Images)

The BBC report added that Selamaj ran towards his victim and struck her 34 times using a metal traffic triangle, before carrying her away unconscious and strangling her in the park. He later disposed of the weapon in a river on his way back to Eastbourne.

During the hearing it was revealed that he had previously been violent towards his former partner, putting his hands around her throat in a strangling motion.

The report further said that Selamaj put his plan into action by booking a room at the five-star Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, three days before. Though his reservation was for the night of 17 September, he arrived earlier in the day to check-in.

The BBC report said that he was captured walking through the lobby wearing the same clothes as the suspect later spotted on CCTV in Kidbrooke. His car was tracked by ANPR cameras and evidence was gathered to identify his movements from Eastbourne to London.

Sabina Nessa (Photo: Met Police)

"The defendant is seen in effect loitering in locations around the park before spotting the deceased, checking to see if anyone else was nearby before turning and running after her," Morgan was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"He is then seen to move towards the deceased and striking her repeatedly using a weapon which was approximately 2ft in length. The CCTV footage shows the defendant then carrying the deceased, who appeared to be unconscious by that point, up a bank and effectively out of sight."

According to the prosecutor, Selamaj appeared after 10 minutes to pick up pieces of the weapon that had broken on the ground and then moved back to the area the deceased was located for another 10 minutes.

He was arrested on 26 September in Eastbourne. In December, a lawyer for the defendant confirmed that he accepted being the person caught on CCTV and that he had hit Nessa a number of times, although he denied murder at that point.