Death of Sabina Nessa

Nessa grew up in Sandy, Bedfordshire, England, with her older sister.[1] She worked as a teacher at Rushey Green Primary School in Lewisham, South East London.[2] She was a graduate of the University of Greenwich[3] and the University of Bedfordshire.[4] She graduated in sociology from Greenwich in 2014 and did her PGCE teaching certificate at Bedfordshire in 2020. She had plans to spend some time teaching in the UAE.[5] She was 28 years old at the time of her death.

At 20:30 BST on 17 September 2021, Nessa left her home in Astell Road, Kidbrooke, South East London,[6] on a five-minute walk to meet a friend at the Depot pub in Kidbrooke Village, near Kidbrooke railway station.[7][8] Nessa did not arrive at the pub, although she was not reported missing.[9]

At 17:30 on 18 September, a dogwalker found Nessa's body in Cator Park, Greenwich, South East London, under a pile of leaves.[10][11] Cator Park would have formed part of Nessa's route to Kidbrooke Village, although detectives have not concluded whether she was killed in the park.[9]

On 23 September, officers in Lewisham arrested a 38-year-old man on suspicion of murder.[7] Three days later, a 36-year-old Albanian-born[12] man was arrested in Eastbourne, East Sussex, also on suspicion of murder, and on 27 September he was formally charged with the murder.[7][13]

The 36-year-old from Eastbourne appeared at Central London's Old Bailey via videolink from HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs in White City, West London, on 30 September 2021.[12] The court heard that he repeatedly struck Nessa with a 2-foot (0.61 m) weapon, although a post mortem was inconclusive as to the cause of death.[12]

On 16 December 2021, the suspect pleaded not guilty to murder, while admitting that he was responsible for Nessa's death.[14]

Nessa's death attracted widespread media coverage[15][16] and brought more pressure for action to tackle violence against women in London.[17][8] Mayor of London Sadiq Khan described violence against women as a national "epidemic".[18]

Her death was compared to the other recent deaths of Sarah Everard and Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry. As in the case of Henry and Smallman, Nessa's death raised concerns that the response to killings of women of colour were still taken less seriously by law enforcement.[2][19]

Vigils were held in several cities held to honour her life.[2][20][21][22] Her family spoke at a rally at East London Mosque attended by faith leaders, women's groups and local politicians, including Rushanara Ali MP.[23][24] A video message from Zara Mohammed, Secretary-General of the Muslim Council of Britain was played at the mosque, and a candle was lit at 10 Downing Street.[25] A spokesperson from Citizens UK noted that the day Nessa was killed was the same day the government released its strategy on tackling violence against women and girls.[26]

Dame Vera Baird attended the vigil for Nessa in London and commented that societal change is needed and the police must do more.[27] Also in attendance at the London vigil were Zarah Sultana, Mandu Reid, Rabina Khan and Apsana Begum.[28] Flowers were laid on behalf of the Duchess of Cambridge.[6]