Man attacked Sabina Nessa with a 2ft-long weapon, court hears

THE man who attacked primary school teacher Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke, south London, used a 2ft-long weapon, the court heard.

Koci Selamaj, 36, appeared in court on Thursday (30) accused of the “predatory” murder of the 28-year-old teacher.

Nessa was attacked while walking through Cator Park on her way to meet a friend on 17 September, reported The Guardian.

It is claimed he used a 2ft-long weapon to strike her repeatedly before carrying her away unconscious. The body of Nessa was found covered with leaves near a community centre in the park, the report added.

Nessa was teaching at a year-one class at Rushey Green primary school in Catford.

The prosecutor, Alison Morgan QC, told the court it was a “predatory” stranger attack and there was no suggestion the defendant knew Nessa.

A postmortem has yet to confirm the exact cause of her death but the attack was said to have involved “extreme violence”.

According to the report, Selamaj, from Eastbourne in East Sussex, was arrested in the seaside town in the early hours of Sunday (26) and charged with her murder the next day.

Originally from Albania, he appeared at the Old Bailey before the recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft QC.

During the hearing, the defendant, who had already indicated he would deny murder, spoke to confirm his name and date of birth before a timetable for the case was set.

Dressed in a prison-issue green and yellow top, he appeared in court by video link from Wormwood Scrubs assisted by an Albanian interpreter in court. Lucraft set a plea hearing for 16 December and remanded him in custody, The Guardian report added.