A man has been charged with the murder of British school teacher Sabina Nessa. On Friday, September 17, Nessa was killed while walking to meet a friend in South East London.
On her journey, Koci Selamaj, from East Sussex, allegedly used a 2ft weapon to repeatedly strike and subsequently kill the 28-year-old. While the exact cause of death has not been determined yet, a post-mortem exam indicates “extreme violence” is an overruling factor.
Before the investigation pointed to Selamaj, authorities were convinced the attacker must’ve known Nessa. This narrative was vetoed in court, where Prosecutor Alison Morgan QC told the Willesden Magistrates’ court the attack was “premeditated and predatory”. They also added there was no indication Selamaj knew Nessa personally.
During the hearing, the defendant denied the murder allegations. Because of this, a plea hearing is set to take place on December 16.
A spokesperson for Reclaim These Streets said: “For too long, the burden of women’s safety has been on women—it shouldn’t take yet another murder of a woman to change that. Since March, we’ve seen a lot of reports and little action; a woman dies at the hands of a man every three days in this country, so the time for reports and platitudes is over, and the time for action is long overdue.”
Last week, a vigil in memory of Nessa was held around Pegler Square, South East London. In the wake of Nessa’s death, an outpouring of support has been shown towards Nessa’s family.
Lisa Williams, Nessa’s colleague at Rushey Green Primary School, called Nessa a brilliant teacher and lamented the school has been left in devastation.
Annie Gibbs, the vice-chair of the Kidbrooke forum community group, said: “We want people to respect and honour her life and make sure that we send a loud and clear message that we are a united community and this violent act isn’t going to divide us. Violence isn’t welcome here, and we will stand up against it. Although many people didn’t know Sabina, our community is one.”
Rest in peace, Sabina Nessa.
