The final footsteps of Sabina Nessa were meant to be a brief, ten-minute journey through a familiar park, a shortcut that would carry her from her flat in Kidbrooke to the Depôt bar, where a friend was waiting for a drink on a Friday evening. Just after 8:30 PM on September 17th, 2021, the 28-year-old primary school teacher left her home on Astell Road, her hair styled and her makeup done, wearing a dress and a pair of shimmering heels that she loved. She was running a little late, and the quickest route was through Cator Park, a green space she had privately confessed to friends that she considered unsafe after dark.
That night, in a tragic paradox, she decided to take the risk, perhaps to save time or because she saw others milling about. She never emerged from the other side.
It would be nearly 24 hours before her body was discovered. At 5:30 PM the following day, September 18th, a man walking his dog in the park, the same park that sat directly opposite Sabina’s apartment, noticed his pet acting strangely, drawn to a patch of overgrown grass. Initially believing the woman lying there was simply unconscious from a night of heavy drinking, he approached, only to find her covered in leaves and twigs.
When he brushed some debris away, he saw blood. He called out to another passerby to use their phone, and police were summoned. Through identification found in the victim’s jacket, they confirmed her identity as Sabina Nessa.
A police cordon was swiftly erected, marking the grim scene where a young woman’s life had been brutally extinguished during a routine walk to meet a friend.
The Metropolitan Police immediately launched a murder investigation, appealing for witnesses who may have been in or around Cator Park on the evening of the murder. Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who led the investigation, stressed that the park was heavily used by the community and that the attack appeared to have occurred shortly after Sabina left her home. “We believe that Sabina was walking from her home address, and she left just before 8:30 PM,” he stated.
“We now know that Sabina was planning to meet a friend at the Depôt bar in Beagler Square, which is just over a five-minute walk away. She would have walked through Cator Park, and we believe that as she was walking through the park, she was approached by someone who has then attacked her fatally.”
The attack was swift and ferocious. The post-mortem examination revealed that Sabina had been subjected to a horrific, sustained assault. She had been struck 34 times with a heavy object, suffering broken ribs and damage to her liver.
She had sustained numerous defensive injuries, indicating a prolonged struggle in which she fought desperately against her attacker. Her dress had been pulled up, her underwear was missing, and her bra was 𝓮𝔁𝓹𝓸𝓼𝓮𝓭, leading investigators to conclude that the attack was sexually motivated. After being beaten into unconsciousness, she had been dragged off the path into an area of long grass, where she was strangled.
Her body was then covered with leaves and branches, as if her killer had attempted to conceal her. The weapon, initially unknown, was later determined to be a red warning triangle, a piece of roadside safety equipment that had shattered from the force of the blows. It was later found damaged in a nearby river.
The investigation quickly turned to CCTV footage, which proved invaluable. One camera captured a masked man walking alongside Sabina, glancing at her before turning back and launching a violent attack, striking her repeatedly over the head and carrying her into the grass. Ten minutes later, he was seen running back out of the park.
The footage, though not released to the public, provided investigators with a clear image of the suspect’s build and gait. Another camera showed him lifting his hood slightly, revealing his face. He was seen carrying an object, though it was unclear what it was.
Police also began searching for a silver Nissan Micra that had been seen driving in the same area and direction minutes after the man appeared on camera.
Despite a thorough investigation and a public appeal, initial leads were slow to develop. A man in his forties was arrested on suspicion of murder but was quickly released without charge, later being eliminated from the inquiry. The case drew widespread public attention, coming just months after the horrific kidnap, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.
The parallels were stark: two young women, going about their daily lives, killed by strangers in the most brutal of circumstances. The public outcry was immense, with thousands of tributes pouring in for Sabina, including a message from the then-Duchess of Cambridge. Hundreds joined vigils held in her memory, laying flowers near the spot where her life was taken.
Her sister, in a poignant tribute, described her as “my beautiful, talented, caring sister, my inspiration to always put myself first and never let anyone bring me down,” adding, “I never imagined in my life, me or my sisters or my mum and dad, that this could happen to us.”
The breakthrough came through painstaking work with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) data. Investigators obtained records for 60 silver Nissan Micras that had passed through the area that night. Through a process of elimination, they finally identified a name that matched the man seen in the CCTV footage.
Nine days after Sabina’s body was found, on September 26th, 2021, the Metropolitan Police announced a charge. Koci Selamaj, a 36-year-old man from Eastbourne, was charged with her murder. He was an Albanian national who had moved to the UK seven years earlier, working in a car repair workshop and as a pizza delivery driver.
He had no criminal record in the UK, but his past was marked by violence: his ex-wife, Ionela, had fled their home out of fear, and was living in a hotel where she worked. Selamaj had a history of domestic 𝓪𝓫𝓾𝓼𝓮 against her.
The details of his movements on the day of the murder painted a chilling picture of premeditation. On September 17th, he booked a room at a hotel less than ten minutes from his home, attempting to check in early. This was the same hotel where his estranged wife lived and worked, having fled their home in fear.
He left and returned at 4:20 PM, checking into his room for just over half an hour before departing again at 5:00 PM. Hotel staff, uncomfortable with his behavior, had called police when things escalated, but the issue was resolved without police attendance. At 6:00 PM, he demanded to see Ionela and attempted to have 𝒔𝒆𝒙 with her, but she pushed him away.
Rejected and enraged, police believe he then set out to find someone else to take what he wanted, regardless of consent. He drove 60 miles to London, arriving at 7:40 PM. He entered a Sainsbury’s store, purchasing a machete, possibly intending it as a weapon, along with randomly selected items like spicy chips and an energy drink.
He then entered Cator Park, wandering for over 20 minutes with his hood up. Instead of the machete, he armed himself with a red warning triangle he found. He waited, hidden under his hood, for a lone woman to pass.
Sabina became his target. He walked alongside her, then turned back and began striking her with the metal triangle, hitting her with such force that the object shattered. After she lost consciousness, he carried her into the grass, strangled her by wrapping his arm around her neck, and then returned to the path ten minutes later.
He drove back to his hotel just after midnight. The blood on his shoes, found at his home, matched Sabina’s DNA. During his arrest, he remained eerily calm, showing little reaction.
In interviews, he repeatedly answered “no comment” and asked only one question:“What will happen to me now if I confess and tell you everything?”
Selamaj initially pleaded not guilty, but on the day his trial was due to begin in February 2022, he changed his plea to guilty, also admitting that the murder was sexually motivated. Sabina’s parents, Abdur and Aziebon, delivered a devastating victim impact statement, saying,“You had no right to take her from us in such a cruel way. The moment the police officer came to our house, our world shattered into pieces.
How could you do something like this to an innocent girl who was just passing by, not hurting anyone? You are not human. You are an animal.”
He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 36 years before he could be considered for parole. He refused to attend the sentencing hearing, either in person or via video link, prompting the judge to call him a coward. His violence did not stop behind bars; two years into his sentence, he was given an additional four-and-a-half years for stabbing a prison guard.
The officer had asked him if he was coming out for lunch; Selamaj screamed, smashed his toilet, and armed himself with a piece of ceramic before attacking. The guard later said,“His strength was unbelievable. I feel very lucky that it wasn’t worse.”
The murder of Sabina Nessa became a catalyst for broader national conversations about violence against women and girls. It highlighted the persistent, tragic reality that women in the UK, and around the world, face the threat of male violence simply by existing in public spaces. The case drew inevitable comparisons to other high-profile killings: the sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, stabbed to death in a park by a stranger the previous year, and Sarah Everard, abducted and murdered by a police officer just months earlier.
These cases, occurring in quick succession, underscored a systemic failure to protect women. Community groups distributed leaflets with safety advice, while local councils issued hundreds of rape alarms. Critics, however, pointed out the recurring narrative that placed the onus on women to protect themselves, rather than addressing the root cause: male violence.
Sabina’s sister, Bebana, voiced this frustration, noting that her sister’s death received far less media coverage than that of Sarah Everard, a disparity she attributed to race. She told reporters,“I have lots of newspapers for my memory, for my daughter to remember her aunt. She would get page seven or nine, just a small section.
Sarah Everard, for example, got front-page coverage. I think every woman whose life is taken should be on the front page. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, if you’re black, or whatever race you are.
A life has been taken.”
In the wake of her death, numerous memorials were established in her honor. Students at the University of Greenwich, where Sabina had studied, founded the Sabina Project. Her school, Rushey Green Primary School, raised funds to create a memorial garden.
The broader community created artworks and tributes, ensuring that her legacy would endure. At her sentencing, the judge’s words resonated deeply:“Sabina’s life mattered, a life that did not deserve to be taken in such a horrific and cowardly way. She had every right to walk through that park in all her finery to enjoy her time after a long week at work.
She was an amazing role model who challenged all norms, sought to be independent, was strong, brave, bright, and a wonderful spirit. She died in a way that no one should ever die, and that will haunt them all for the rest of their lives.” The ten-minute walk that was supposed to lead her to a night of laughter with a friend instead became a haunting reminder of the vulnerability that women face, and the urgent, ongoing need for change.
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