Bournemouth beach stabbings: Man found guilty of murder

A criminology student has been found guilty of murder and attempted murder after stabbing two women on Bournemouth beach.

Amie Gray, 34, was killed and 38-year-old Leanne Miles was seriously injured in the attack on Durley Chine Beach on 24 May.

Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, was found guilty following a nine-day trial at Winchester Crown Court, and pleaded guilty to failing to give the police access to his mobile phone.

The prosecution said Saadi “seems to have wanted to know what it would be like to take life”.

The jury deliberated for 5 hours and 36 minutes, and the verdict came after a 9-day trial.

Judge Mrs Justice Cutts told Saadi: “You have been convicted of the most serious of crimes.”

She added that he would face imprisonment for life, with a minimum term of “considerable length”.

Saadi will be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on 28 March.

On the night of the attack, the two women were sitting on the sand where they had lit a fire.

Jurors were shown CCTV footage of Saadi walking up and down the promenade before stepping on to the sand and attacking the pair and leaving them to bleed to death.

Ms Gray, a fitness instructor, was pronounced dead at the scene after paramedics arrived.

Ms Miles was taken to hospital with 20 knife wounds, mainly to her back.

Saadi, who had been studying criminology at the University of Greenwich, was arrested at his aunt’s house in Purley on 28 May.

Police found a number of knives and self-defence spray in a bedroom at the property.

No weapon or clothing from the night of the killing was recovered during the investigation.

Saadi refused to disclose his passwords, and pleaded guilty to failing to give the police access to his mobile phone.

On his laptop, investigators found internet searches for “deadliest knife”, “Why is it harder for a criminal to be caught if he does it in another town” and “What hotels don’t have CCTV in UK”, the jury was told.

He had also looked up “Bournemouth CCTV” and “Bournemouth pier CCTV” just days before the murder took place.

The jury was shown CCTV footage which Ms Jones said captured Saadi travelling from Croydon to the Travelodge hotel in Bournemouth on 21 May.

He carried out recces of the area before moving to the Silver How Hotel on 23 May.

In footage shown in court, detectives asked Saadi what he had done after checking out of the Travelodge on 23 May.

Saadi said “I can’t remember, maybe sleepwalking… I probably blacked out” and told detectives his next memory was being at home on 25 May.

He told investigators he was a victim of “mistaken identity” and said “that’s not me” after being shown CCTV footage from the night of the attack.

Saadi chose not to give evidence from the witness box, and Mr Sherrard, defending, did not give any further evidence.