Inquest finds agencies' failures contributed to Zara Aleena's death

An inquest jury has found that failures across multiple agencies contributed to the death of Zara Aleena, who was raped and murdered in east London in June 2022.

Jordan McSweeney, who had been released from prison on licence nine days before the attack, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 33 years at the Old Bailey for the killing and sexual assault of Aleena, a 35-year-old law graduate.

A probation report revealed that McSweeney was not categorised as a high-risk offender when he should have been, reported BBC. Aleena's aunt, Farah Naz, described the recorded failings as "a damning reflection of our state services that are meant to protect us and were meant to protect Zara."

The HM Prison and Probation Service has apologised and stated that "significant steps" have been taken to address its failings.

Aleena died in hospital from a blunt force head injury and neck compression, the inquest jury stated. Area coroner Nadia Persaud expressed her condolences to Aleena's family and friends, noting that Aleena died two years ago to the day.

A video montage of pictures and videos from Aleena’s life was shown at the East London Coroner’s Court, BBC reported.

In December 2022, McSweeney was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 38 years after admitting to Aleena’s murder and sexual assault. However, in November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term.

Coroner Persaud asked jurors to consider whether any failings by the prison and probation services or the Metropolitan Police contributed to Aleena’s death.

The inquest revealed that police were unable to contact McSweeney after his release on 17 June 2022, and probation waited five days before initiating his recall to prison. McSweeney missed his probation appointment on the day of his release, and his mother informed staff that he had passed out drunk at her house. Despite attempts to reschedule, McSweeney did not attend the subsequent appointments, and his mother later claimed she did not know his whereabouts, the BBC reported.

The recall was not initiated until 22 June, with the recall report signed on 24 June. Police were granted powers to arrest McSweeney at 16:10 on 24 June. In the early hours of 26 June, McSweeney murdered Aleena.

McSweeney’s probation worker, Austin Uwaifo, said that McSweeney should have been graded high risk. Uwaifo believed that had McSweeney been properly assessed, he would have pushed for an earlier recall to prison, reported BBC.

Uwaifo noted that the probation office was not staffed over the weekend, but he would have requested a faster out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk.