Beach murder accused claimed 'mistaken identity'

A criminology student accused of stabbing a woman to death on a beach told police he was a victim of "mistaken identity".

Amie Gray, 34, died, and 38-year-old Leanne Miles was seriously injured on Durley Chine Beach in Bournemouth on 24 May, Winchester Crown Court heard.

Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, denies charges of murder and attempted murder.

During an interview with police shown to the jury, he said: "That's not me" after seeing CCTV footage from the night of the attack.

Mr Saadi has since pleaded not guilty to a further count of wounding Ms Miles with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, as an alternative to the attempted murder charge.

The courtroom was played CCTV footage of the moment of the attack, during which screams were heard.

The camera at Chineside cafe, which was directed away from the beach, picked up the sound of crashing waves from the beach.

In the footage, which was about a minute in duration, Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, said "a male voice" could also be heard.

Charles Sherrard KC, defending, said Mr Saadi would not be giving evidence from the witness box and offered no further evidence.

In her closing speech, prosecutor Ms Jones said to the jury: "I wonder if you were starting to get a little impatient to be hearing from him."

Later she said: "It turns out the defendant has nothing to say. Odd, isn't it?"

Mrs Justice Cutts said the case could cause "feelings of outrage and of sympathy".

She told jurors: "Emotion of any kind doesn't assist when deciding whether the evidence against the defendant is sufficiently proved."

In footage of a police interview on 31 May, shown to the court, detectives asked Mr Saadi whether he was the man seen in CCTV from the night of the attack.

Wearing a grey jumper and sitting with his arms crossed, he told them it was a case of "mistaken identity".

"I am not responsible and I have no reason to attack someone for no reason," he said

In an earlier part of the same interview, read to the jury, Mr Saadi told detectives the evidence they had presented was "circumstantial".

"You haven't found a murder weapon, you haven't found the trousers, the bag," he said.

Previously, the court heard how the two women were stabbed as they sat on the sand.

CCTV footage from 24 May showed Mr Saadi walking up and down the promenade before stepping onto the sand and attacking the women, Ms Jones said.

Paramedics described finding Ms Gray to be unconscious, unresponsive, not breathing and "cold to the touch", the jury heard.

Following CPR, the football coach from Poole was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the court Ms Gray had died from multiple stab wounds to her chest and arm, including one to her heart.

Ms Miles was taken to hospital with 20 stab wounds to her chest and back, the court was told.

After Mr Saadi was arrested on 28 May, police found five knives and self-defence spray in a bedroom at his home, the prosecution said.

Officers also seized a blue Trespass rucksack which contained white latex gloves - two of which were inside out - as well as a black balaclava, a torch, used wet wipes and a packet of tissues.

He pleaded guilty to failing to give the police access to his mobile phone after he refused to disclose his passwords, meaning detectives were only able to access "limited information", the court heard.

Just days before the attack, the defendant had carried out internet searches for "Bournemouth CCTV" and "Bournemouth pier CCTV", Ms Jones said.

In other footage shown to the jury, the defendant was seen travelling by train to the Travelodge in Bournemouth on 21 May, before carrying out several night-time recces of the area, the prosecution said.

On 23 May, he left the Travelodge and moved to the Silver How Hotel, the court heard.

When detectives asked Mr Saadi what he had done after checking out of the Travelodge on 23 May at 14:00, he said: "I can't remember, maybe sleepwalking… I probably blacked out."

The jury previously heard the defendant had an interest in true crime and had watched a horror film at the cinema while he was in Bournemouth, which he described as being "about killers that kill with no motive".

Mr Saadi had used the profile name "Ninja Killer" on Snapchat, searched "what is the deadliest knife" on the internet and purchased multiple knives online.

Ms Jones previously told the court Mr Saadi had spent a month planning a random killing.

The trial continues.

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