A man has pleaded not guilty to the murder of primary school teacher Sabina Nessa.
Koci Selamaj, 36, is accused of carrying out a pre-meditated attack on the 28-year-old, after travelling to London from his home in Eastbourne in September.
He appeared at the Old Bailey today where he entered a plea of 'not guilty'. Despite the plea, Selamaj has accepted responsibility for killing Ms Nessa, the court was told.
The garage worker is accused of striking the teacher as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south east, London, on 17th September.
Advert
She had been walking to meet a friend at a pub in Kidbrooke, on a journey that should have taken just five minutes when she was fatally attacked.
Ms Nessa's body was found nearly 24 hours later covered with leaves near a community centre in the park.
Selamaj was arrested and charged with her murder. The suspect is understood to have been working as a food delivery driver in Eastbourne and was described by neighbours as "quiet".
It is believed that they were not known to one another.
Days after Sabina's death, hundreds of people – including her sister – gathered for a candlelit vigil organised in Pegler Square, Kidbrooke, in her memory.
Advert
Jebina Yasmin Islam, Ms Nessa’s sister, broke down as she addressed crowds.
She said: “Words cannot describe how we are feeling, this feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can’t get out of it – our world is shattered, we are simply lost for words.
“No family should go through what we are going through.”
Sabina's death came just months after the killing of Sarah Everard, who was abducted in Clapham, south London, and just over a year after sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman were murdered at a park in Wembley, north London.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: News, No Article Matching