Nasen Saadi, who became obsessed with notorious crimes, repeatedly stabbed Amie Gray and her friend Leanne Miles on Bournemouth beach on a night in May.
Gray, 34, a sports coach and a mother, was killed after a blade penetrated her heart.
The trial heard that Saadi had researched how police investigated murders and kitted himself up with latex gloves, a balaclava, wet wipes and nail clippers to try to avoid being traced.
He hid his weapon and disposed of all the clothes he was wearing, leaving no traces of DNA or fingerprints at the scene. Saadi refused to give police the passcode to his phone, stopping them from using technology to pinpoint him on the beach, but Dorset detectives built a strong circumstantial case that convinced the jury he was the murderer.
In the lead-up to the attack, Saadi bought six knives including a machete and a hunting knife and repeatedly searched for details of murders including those of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey in Cheshire, 13-year-old Milly Dowler from Surrey and of the Miyazawa family in Setagaya in Tokyo. His online pseudonyms included "Ninja Killer" and "NSKills".
This story is from the December 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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