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Sabina Nessa: man charged with murder of London schoolteacher

A man has been charged with the murder of Sabina Nessa, the primary school teacher who was found dead in a park close to her south London home.

Koci Selamaj, aged 36, was arrested by police early on Sunday morning in Eastbourne, east Sussex, just over a week after the body of the 28-year-old teacher was found. He will appear at Willesden magistrates court on Tuesday on a charge of murder.

Nessa is believed to have left her home in Kidbrooke, south-east London, at about 8.30pm on Friday 17 September. Police believe she was heading to the Depot bar in Pegler Square, Kidbrooke Village, to meet a friend, but she never arrived.

Officers were called at just after 5.30pm on 18 September after her body was discovered near the OneSpace community centre in Cator Park, Kidbrooke Park Road, close to her home.

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Met homicide detectives submitted a file of evidence on Monday for a charging decision by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Lisa Ramsarran, a deputy chief crown prosecutor with the CPS, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has authorised the Metropolitan police service to charge Koci Selamaj, 36, with one count of murder. The charge relates to the murder of 28-year-old primary school teacher Sabina Nessa in Kidbrooke, south-east London, on Friday, 17 September 2021.”

The Metropolitan police have previously said a man had been arrested on suspicion of murder at about 3am on Sunday 26 September, in East Sussex.

In a statement, the Met said that Selamaj lived in Terminus Road, Eastbourne, the scene of police activity in recent days after the arrest.

Two other men, aged 38 and 41, who were arrested by police investigating the teacher’s death have been released under investigation.

Nessa’s family have told of their grief since her body was found. Her sister Jebina said:“We have lost an amazing, caring, beautiful sister who left this world far too early. She didn’t reach her 29th birthday next month.

“Sabina loved her family. We have lost a sister, my parents have lost their daughter, and my girls have lost such a brilliant and caring auntie who dearly loved them.

“Words cannot describe how we are feeling. It feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can’t get out of it. Our world is shattered. We have simply lost the words. No family should go through what we are going through.”

The case has reignited the debate about the safety of women and girls on Britain’s streets.

Nessa’s uncle, Shahin Miah, said last week: “In a country like the UK, this insecurity of women is deeply worrying. We don’t want what happened to Sabina to happen to anyone else. We don’t want any other mother’s chest to be empty or filled with deep sorrow, or to see the tears in the eyes of any father.”