How slip up on store journey to purchase cider snared Bournemouth seashore killer: Amie Gray’s assassin Nasen Saadi’s meticulous no-DNA, no money plot unraveled through the use of financial institution card at retailer

Police have revealed the painstaking CCTV investigation that led to the conviction of Bournemouth beach killer Nasen Saadi. 

The criminology student, who was ‘fascinated’ with knives and had ‘wanted to be the star of a true crime episode’, was yesterday found guilty of stabbing personal trainer Amie Gray to death at Durley Chine Beach on May 24.

The 20-year-old was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Leanne Miles, after launching a savage attack both women as they enjoyed a late night chat next to a small fire.

A nine-day trial at Winchester Crown Court heard Saadi had meticulously planned the attack, having travelled down from his home in Croydon and scouted the beach the days before. 

He even research which hotels in the area had CCTV and was wary about paying in cash, knowing it could be traced back to him. 

In a bid to further evade police, Saadi also discarded the clothes and shoes he had worn during the attack and left Bournemouth early the next morning.

Dorset Police later launched a extensive murder probe, supported by the local authority as well as local businesses and residents, to catch the killer and track down his whereabouts. 

But it was only after a large scale CCTV search that Saadi was eventually identified, all owing to one crucial slip up from the violence obsessed murderer – an innocent trip to a nearby corner shop. 

Saadi’s murderous plan began on May 21 when he travelled down from his home in Croydon to Bournemouth and he checked into a Travelodge hotel which he had booked in advance. 

He was recorded at the beach on the same day, in what was described as the first of several visits to survey the scene. 

On Friday May 24, Ms Miles and Mrs Gray had ‘arranged to meet’ at Durley Beach to enjoy a picnic and a drink together in a setting which Ms Miles described as ‘peaceful and calm’.

Whilst they were sat in front of the fire pit to keep warm, Saadi ‘loitered’ behind them.

In a police interview, Ms Miles described turning round to see ‘this boy’ who ‘wasn’t very old’.

She said Mrs Gray smiled at him before he ‘went towards me’ to which her friend proclaimed ‘What are you doing? Get off her’.

It was then that Saadi started to stab the two friends which prompted Ms Miles to run in an attempt to get help.

After running towards the promenade, Ms Miles said Saadi then ‘came back onto me’ and started ‘continuously stabbing me’, the court heard. 

Police were able to trace back the killer’s whereabouts using CCTV footage and discovered he had been in a Superdrug and a Nisa store on the day of the attack. 

A series of financial enquiries helped uncover his identity. The final piece of evidence that led to Saadi’s arrest came after a witness to the horrifying attack identified the student in a police lineup. 

Photographer Michael Priddle walked past a hooded Saadi who he described as having a ‘grimacing’ appearance.

Giving evidence at the trial, Mr Priddle said that moments before he heard two loud’ and ‘broken’ screams.

After reading in the news that a woman had been murdered in that area, Mr Priddle contacted the police and was eventually able to pick Saadi out of a parade of ten suspects in a police identification procedure.

Saadi was arrested at his home on May 28. The knife used in the attack has never been found.

A rucksack containing white latex gloves, two of which were turned inside out, a black balaclava, torc, and used wet wipes was also found.

Interviewed by police, Saadi initially declined to answer questions before saying he would not kill someone ‘for no reason’.

But he then went on to say that he had an interest in true crime and enjoyed horror movies like the one he had seen in Bournemouth. 

Asked why he liked the film, he replied that it was because the killer ‘did not have a motive’.

As part of the investigation, the student’s devices were examined and officers discovered he used the usernames ‘NSKills’ and ‘Ninja Kiler’.

When asked what he was doing on the night Mrs Gray was killed, he told police he had ‘probably blacked out’ or was ‘sleep walking’.

During the interview, Saadi claimed he was being ‘wrongly accused’ of a serious offence he has ‘nothing to do with’ – and told Dorset Police he was being ‘blamed’ because they were ‘under pressure’ to find a suspect.

The trial heard that Saadi was interested in true crime, horror movies and knives which he bought on the internet and had called himself ‘Ninja killer’ for his username on Snapchat.

He was found to have obsessed over methods of murder and ‘high profile’ stabbings such as the murder of teenager Brianna Ghey – and looked up ‘busiest beaches’ as he plotted his crime.

Prosecutors claimed Saadi wanted to know how it felt to take a life and to gain the ‘notoriety a killing of this sort might bring him’.

His tutors told the court that he had shown a ‘degree of specific interest in matters not related to the subject of his lectures’ and ‘plied’ them with questions relating to forensics, DNA, self defence, and policing. 

Academic Lisa-Maria Reiss told jurors Saadi asked her questions on ‘how to get away with murder’ and asked ‘how often’ a self-defence argument would ‘go through’ if a ‘person was attacked first’.

His questions prompted her to ask him ‘You’re not planning a murder are you?’ – to which Saadi did not respond.

Saadi had taken such an ‘interest’ in true crime his lecturer had once asked him ‘You’re not planning a murder are you?’ when he ‘plied’ her with questions about forensics and how different police forces operated.