Teacher’s murderer refuses to face court

A MURDERER was branded a coward by the family of his victim when he refused to come to court to be sentenced.

Koci Selamaj, 36, drove to London from his home in Eastbourne, East Sussex, to carry out a premeditated attack on a woman after being spurned by his estranged wife.

The garage worker lurked around Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, where he targeted 28-year-old primary school teacher Sabina Nessa as she passed through the park on her way to meet a friend on September 17 last year.

CCTV footage captured the moment Selamaj hit Ms Nessa 34 times with a metal traffic triangle before carrying her unconscious up a grassy bank. He removed some of her clothes and strangled her.

The body of Ms Nessa, who taught a year one class at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford was found nearly 24 hours later in the park.

Selamaj was arrested in Eastbourne and charged over her death days later. In February, the Albanian national pleaded guilty to murder.

Yesterday he was branded a coward by Ms Nessa’s sister when he refused to come to court to be sentenced.

Jabina Islam said her sister was an “amazing role model” who was “powerful, fearless, bright and just an amazing soul”.

Head teacher Lisa Williams said: “For the rest of their lives, these children will never be able to comprehend why someone murdered their teacher.”

In mitigation, Lewis Power QC said his client had provided no explanation for why he killed Ms Nessa.

Mr Justice Sweeney said the “inevitable” sentence would be life in prison, with a starting point of 30 years. He adjourned the sentencing until 10am today.