On the day of the murder, Selamaj, 36, a gas station worker living in Eastbourne, closed a 300 300-400 room at the Grand Hotel in the seaside town where his wife, Ionela, worked. His wife had abandoned him weeks earlier due to domestic abuse, including “strangling” her at least three times, detectives said. After closing the room, Selamai proposed to his wife for sex, which she refused. Hotel staff, aware that Selamai was staying nearby, were concerned about the booking and called 101 to call police, detectives said. But Sussex police did not send any officers. Selamaj later drove from Eastbourne to Kidbrooke, south-east London, a suburb he is believed to have never visited before, where he beat and strangled Nessa, 28, an elementary school teacher unknown to him as he passed Cator. Park to meet a friend around 8:30 pm on September 17 last year. Metropolitan police detectives described it as a “premeditated murder with sexual motives.” Selamai pleaded guilty in February to murder. DCI Neil John said: “We have a man who booked this hotel at 17. We know from talking to his partner that he asked her to meet him in the car during the 17th day at the Grand Hotel where he proposed to her contact. “Obviously he said no.” Detectives said staff were concerned when Selamai was asked to pay for the hotel room. DS Mark Johnson said: “A member of the hotel staff called 101 … They were a little worried about him. “They knew he was staying close, so something was wrong with him.” DCI John said: “The hotel staff felt uncomfortable with his behavior. It just was not comfortable. “He wondered why they wanted to pay now.” Explaining the decision of the Sussex police not to attend, John added: “The police can not go to everything. The police officer did the right thing, as at that moment there was no cause for great concern. “The operator informed staff that the call had been reported and if there was more cause for concern, he would call the police and re-evaluate.” Sussex police said: “The police were contacted at around 4.40pm. on Friday 17 September for reports of a dispute between a man and staff at a hotel in Eastbourne earlier in the day over the payment of a room. The issue was resolved and the police did not have to be present. “ Nessa was hit about 34 times with a metal traffic warning triangle that Selamaj chose to use after buying a rolling pin at Sainsbury’s before being strangled. Her body was discovered 24 hours later covered in grass near a community center in the park. Her underwear was missing, her dress pulled and her bra exposed. On Thursday, Old Bailey heard Selamaj return to the hotel at midnight after killing Nessa and leaving the next morning. Selamai’s wife told police she had left him weeks ago. “He talked to his wife and revealed that there was domestic violence in the relationship,” said John. “Part of this domestic violence included up to three cases where she was broken in the neck. None of them had been reported to the police. “When we spoke to her, she was very upset, very sensitive, as you can imagine, finding out what her husband has done. He has now returned to Romania. It had such a huge impact on her that she decided to return home. “ Through the automatic license plate recognition camera, detectives were able to monitor Selamaj’s return to Eastbourne via Kent. The murder weapon was found in the River Teise in Kent, but forensic evidence could not be recovered. Police said he was motivated to attribute it to his abandoned wife. “When he was warned he said ‘what would happen if I opened now?’ That’s the only thing he said to the police throughout the investigation. “
