A criminology student who harboured a twisted obsession with true crime was today convicted of "butchering" a sports coach to death in a beach attack. Nasen Saadi, 20, was said to have a warped fascination with knives before he murdered Amie Gray, 34, as she screamed: "Get off me." He was motivated by the desire to "take a life" when he launched the random attack, described as "horrifying in its savagery and randomness".
Saadi took inspiration from "high-profile" murders like that of Brianna Ghey's and had taken such an "interest" in true crime. His lecturer once asked him: 'You’re not planning a murder are you?'. His murder trial heard the student had developed a "fascination" with "deliberately offensive-looking weapons". He repeatedly stabbed personal trainer Mrs Gray on May 24 at Durley Chine beach in Bournemouth, Dorset.
He also attacked Mrs Gray's friend, Leanne Miles, 38, but she survived the terrifying ordeal. She begged with him: "Please stop, I’ve got children." Despite pleading not guilty to the murder of Mrs Gray and the attempted murder of Ms Miles, Saadi was today convicted of the offences by a jury.
Addressing Saadi, Judge Johannah Cutts said he faces life imprisonment. "You have been convicted of the most serious of crimes," she said. "As you have heard, there is only one sentence which one should expect to follow the verdict of this jury and that is a sentence of imprisonment for life.
