Koci Selamaj, 36, drove to London from his home in Eastbourne on the south coast to carry out a premeditated attack on a woman after being rejected by his estranged wife. The garage worker was lurking around Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, where he targeted 28-year-old Nessa as she was on her way to meet a friend on September 17 last year. The CCTV video recorded Selamaj attacking Nessa, hitting her on the head 34 times with a 2-foot-long metal traffic triangle, before transporting her unconscious to a grassy shore. He pulled her clothes, took off her tights and underwear and strangled her before covering her body with grass. Nessa’s body, which she taught for a year at Rushey Green Elementary School in Catford, was found almost 24 hours later near a community center in the park. Selamaj, from Eastbourne, East Sussex, was arrested in the seaside town and charged with her death a few days later. In February, the Albanian national pleaded guilty to murder. On Thursday, she was called “cowardly” by Nessa’s sister when she refused to come to court to be convicted. Jabina Islam said: “You are an awful person and you do not deserve to be called by your name. “You are a disgusting animal.” She said her sister was an “amazing role model” who was “strong, fearless, glamorous and just an amazing soul”. Nessa’s parents, Abdur Rouf and Azibun Nessa, said in a statement: “You had no right to take her away from us in such a harsh way. “The moment the policeman came to our house and told her that she was found dead, our world was torn to pieces. “How could you do such a thing to an innocent girl who was passing by, doing her job. “You are not human, you are an animal.” Principal Lisa Williams described the “catastrophic” impact on Nessa’s school. Of her 30 students, she said: “For the rest of their lives, these little kids will never be able to understand why someone killed their teacher and the world they live in is not safe for them to play in a park. . ” Regarding the mitigation, Lewis Power QC said that Selamaj’s family, who had attended the court, was in “shock and complete distrust”. He said his client had given no explanation as to why he had killed Nessa, adding: “He just admits he did.” Judge Sweeney said the “inevitable” sentence would be life imprisonment, starting at 30 years. Postponed the sentence for 10 a.m. Friday. Earlier, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said Selamaj had been violent towards his ex-partner in the past, including strangling her several times. Three days before the Nessa attack, the accused closed a room at the five-star Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, East Sussex, just five minutes from his home. On September 17, he checked into the hotel and, two hours before the murder, contacted his ex-partner in a failed attempt to persuade her to have sex with him. The defendant’s Nissan Micra was spotted by vehicle identification cameras and cell phone data traveling to London. She entered Cator Park shortly after 8pm and waited for half an hour before Nessa made her way to the Depot bar, where she was to meet a friend. In gruesome footage played in court, Selamai was seen running behind Nessa and launching a savage attack. On his return to the south coast, Selamaj stopped at Tunbridge Wells in Kent and threw his gun into the River Teise. Police said Selamai appeared “calm and focused” at the time of his arrest. When he was warned by an interpreter, Selamai said, “What if I open it now and say it all?” Information and support for anyone affected by rape or sexual abuse issues is available from the following organizations. In the United Kingdom, Rape Crisis offers support on 0808 802 9999 in England and Wales, 0808 801 0302 in Scotland or 0800 0246 991 in Northern Ireland. In the US, Rainn offers support at 800-656-4673. In Australia, support is available at 1800Respect (1800 737 732). Other international helplines can be found at ibiblio.org/rcip/internl.html
