Nasen Saadi, from Croydon, south London, has been jailed for murdering 34-year-old Amie Gray at Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on May 24, last year and also attempting to kill Leanne Miles
A killer criminology student who who harboured a twisted obsession with true crime patrolled a beachfront to scout out his victims. Nasen Saadi, 21 launched a frenzied knife attack branded “horrifying in its savagery and in its randomness.”
Today he was jailed for life for murdering 34-year-old Amie Gray on Bournemouth beach and attempting to murder her friend, Leanne Miles. Harrowing CCTV footage captured their terrifying screams on Durley Chine Beach. Clips show the murderer, who referred to himself as Ninja killer on Snapchat, walking past the two women on May 24 before returning to them as they chatted around a fire.
Saadi was motivated by the desire to “take a life” when he launched the random attack as sports coach, Amie screamed: “Get off me.” He also attacked Leanne Miles, but she survived the terrifying ordeal. She begged with him: “Please stop, I’ve got children.”
Saadi took inspiration from “high-profile” murders like that of Brianna Ghey’s and had taken such an “interest” in true crime. His lecturer once asked him: ‘You’re not planning a murder are you?’
During the trial at Winchester Crown Court, Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said that Amie died as a result of “multiple stab wounds”.
Dr Purdue said that Leanne, now aged 39, had 20 knife injuries, mainly to her back, and suffered a collapsed lung and a punctured liver. He said that the injuries to both women were likely to have been caused by a knife with a blade of between 5cm and 7cm long with “a single sharp edge and a finely-squared back edge”.
The jury was shown chilling CCTV footage which Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, said showed Saadi’s movements in the days before the attack as well as the fatal incident itself. The footage shows the killer going for walks along the promenade during the evenings of his stay in Bournemouth, which Ms Jones has suggested were “recces” for the fatal attack.
On May 21, Saadi travelled down from his home in Croydon, south London, to Bournemouth, where he checked into a Travelodge hotel which he had booked in advance.
Two days before the attack, Saadi went to the cinema and watched The Strangers – Chapter 1. Prosecutors described the film as a “slasher home invasion movie” where the male and female leads are both stabbed, which Saadi “sought inspiration” from.
On Friday May 24, Amie and Leanne had arranged to meet at Durley Beach to enjoy a picnic and a drink together in a setting which Leanne 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, Leanne described turning round to see “this boy” who “wasn’t very old”. She said Amie 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 Leanne to run in an attempt to get help.
She told police that she begged with the student, “Please stop, I’ve got children”, and that’s when he walked away. The court heard Amie had been stabbed 10 times and suffered injuries that would have led her to suffer “catastrophic blood loss” before dying at the scene.
The most serious injury was a “gaping” wound to her chest. Leanne told the court that her friend had “saved” her life. On the night of the attack, 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, who was studying criminology and criminal psychology at Greenwich University, admitted to staying in Bournemouth at the time of the attack but denied being the person shown on the CCTV.
He told police that he could not remember that period of time and said he might have “blacked out”, that his arrest had been a case of “mistaken identity” and he had “no reason to attack someone for no reason.”
Jurors heard that in March, Saadi had researched, “Why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town” and, “Which is the deadliest knife.”
He was jailed for life with a minimum term of 39 years at his sentencing hearing today.
Benjamin May, a Senior Crown Prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said after the verdict: “This was a senseless attack which shocked the people of Bournemouth. Our deepest condolences remain with Amie Gray’s family.
“Though both victims were chosen at random, Nasen Saadi’s unfathomable desire to carry out a murder was backed up with extensive planning – which included going to great lengths to avoid getting caught.
“Now he has been convicted and faces life behind bars, I hope he will be forgotten. In contrast, we hope that Amie’s memory will live on as a much loved woman and pillar of the community who bravely and selflessly defended her friend in the face of a terrifying attack.”