Criminology student who ‘butchered’ woman on Bournemouth beach asked teachers about murder before attack

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Jurors heard that while the defendant, from Croydon, south London, was studying for a degree in criminology at Greenwich University, he asked his lecturers a series of questions about defences for murder, which led one of them to ask him: “You’re not planning a murder are you?” Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court that Ms Gray, a physical trainer from Poole, and Ms Miles had been chatting next to a fire to keep warm on the Dorset beach under a full moon when they were targeted by Saadi. She added the lecturer “explained his questions were not relevant to the lecture but there would be police input later in the course and he could save his interest for then and then she queried, ‘you’re not planning a murder are you?’ but he didn’t reply.” Ms Jones said that Saadi also did online research about knives, which he then bought, and also looked at the murder of Brianna Ghey and her killers. She added: “In March he researched ‘why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town’, the merits of one weapon over another, swords or daggers over knives, or ‘which is the deadliest knife’.” Ms Jones said that Saadi also researched Bournemouth beach and how many people visited, and whether it was open at night as well as about which hotels accepted cash payment and did not have CCTV cameras. It suggests doesn’t it, that the defendant gravitated to what he likes to watch or sought inspiration or encouragement from what he saw.” Ms Jones said that on each of the evenings that he stayed in Bournemouth, Saadi walked at night along the promenade to Durley Chine for what she described as a “recce” of the area.