Drivers asked for dashcam footage
Police request motorists’ videos as they say Sabina Nessa suspect is likely to have been seen
MOTORISTS who drove near where Sabina Nessa was killed are being urged to check dashcam footage because her killer was likely to have been repeatedly caught in the glare of car headlights.
Detectives are hoping to piece together their prime suspect’s movements before he was captured on CCTV outside an apartment block as he fled the crime scene in Kidbrooke, southeast London, on Friday, September 17.
They also hope someone will recall seeing the man, who remains at large, carrying a “red reflective object, and possibly trying to conceal it up his sleeve”.
A force spokesman added: “Officers retain an open mind as to whether this was used in the attack.”
Meanwhile, people in Kent as well as London are being encouraged to circulate and study the CCTV footage to see if they recognise him.
The 28-year-old primary school teacher is understood to have been killed near her home on the outskirts of Cator Park at around 8.30pm. Her body was found 400 yards away near a community centre the following day.
The attacker’s route from the crime scene to Pegler Square – where he was captured on CCTV – would have meant he was visible on two roads.
The busiest was the A2213, a vital artery for commuters heading south from the capital towards Kent and Sussex at the weekend. The other street, Cambert Way, which her assailant would have had to cross, possibly while carrying her, cuts through Cator Park.
The only CCTV image of the suspect shows him walking past Cobham House in Pegler Square back towards the A2213.
To get to that spot from the park, he would have had to take one of two routes right next to the A2213. He could have clambered over security fencing into a building site, where a new apartment block is being built, or jumped over a small wall.
Both routes would mean he had no choice but to walk past the Cobham House CCTV camera.
Otherwise he would have had to risk entering Pegler Square which has a supermarket, pub and railway station, all with numerous surveillance cameras. A contract worker last night said police had earlier conducted fingertip searches of the building site where he was working on the new apartment blocks. He added how construction was in its early stages and the site was a “warren” of open drains, piping and stacked up building materials.
On Friday, police with sticks also conducted searches along both the fencing and wall the suspect may have climbed over.
It raises the prospect the killer may have discarded a weapon or left other forensic evidence as he fled before being caught on CCTV.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said: “I continue to appeal for any witnesses and anyone with information to contact police and share what they know.
“People in the Kidbrooke area last Friday may recall seeing this man carrying a red reflective object, and possibly trying to conceal it up his sleeve. If so, please call police.
“Please share the CCTV footage on social media and, especially if you have connections to London or Kent, show the image to family members and friends who may not have seen it. He must be traced.
“We all saw at yesterday evening’s vigil, the impact that Sabina’s death has had on the community. I would reiterate my plea to those in the local area to think and if you have any information that could help this investigation, then please get in touch.”
A book of condolence has been opened at the community centre on the outskirts of Cator Park so people can pay their respects to Miss Nessa.
One tribute says: “I pray that our daughters will be safe on the street and that your death will not be in vain.”
‘A book of condolence had been opened at the community centre yesterday so people can pay their respects to Miss Nessa’