A criminology student in the U.K. was jokingly asked by his professor if he was planning a murder before he allegedly killed a woman at random on a beach, a court has heard.
Nasen Saadi, 20, would allegedly badger his professor at Greenwich University in London with questions about crime, and a police search of his personal computer later found searches including “why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town” and “which is the deadliest knife.”
A court sketch of Saadi / CPS
Another search was for “busiest beaches.” Saadi was hauled before Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire, southern England, on Monday, charged with the murder of Amie Gray, 34, and the attempted murder of her friend Leanne Miles, then 38.
The court heard that on May 24 he approached the two on a beach in Bournemouth, a seaside town on the south coast of England, and allegedly lunged at them with a knife.
Gray died of her injuries and Miles got away, she said, because she pleaded, “Please stop, I’ve got children.”
“In an act horrifying in its savagery and in its randomness he stabbed them both multiple times, chasing after them as they tried to escape or divert him from the other and he continued his attack,” the judge said.
Jurors were told that the Londoner, who watched a “slasher” movie the night before the alleged crime, booked a hotel in Bournemouth and devised his plan to kill.
The scene at Bournemouth beach where Amie Gray was killed. / CPS
The judge said that while studying, Saadi’s lecturer felt compelled to ask “You’re not planning a murder, are you?” because of his incessant questions that were, at times, off topic.
Saadi reportedly didn’t respond to the question. And when shown CCTV of the attack by police, he said, “That’s not me.”
Cops found an array of knives, latex gloves, a flashlight, and a black balaclava during a search of the defendant’s home.
The trial continues.
