The wife of physical trainer Amie Gray who was “butchered” to death on Bournemouth beach has said she can now “rest in peace” after a student was convicted of her murder.
Nasen Saadi, 20, of Croydon, south London, was also found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of the attempted murder of Ms Gray’s friend, 39-year-old Leanne Miles, as the pair were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire to keep warm on the beach.
Mrs Gray’s wife, Sian Gray thanked police and the emergency services for helping her and bringing “the justice that she deserves”.
She said in a statement: “Amie will never be forgotten. She touched the lives of so many. The immense support and love shown by everyone, reflects just that.
“Amie’s life has been brutally taken but now she can rest in peace. Her strength lives on in all of us.”
The jury was shown footage of the fatal attack in which Saadi is seen “loitering” around his two victims before walking on to the sand and attacking them, and he is seen running after one of the women in the prolonged incident.
An audio recording of the attack, which included extended screams from the victims, was also played to the jurors.
Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the court Ms Gray died as a result of 10 knife wounds in the incident in May, including one to the heart, while Ms Miles suffered 20 knife injuries.
The court heard Saadi was “fascinated” with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunt’s house where he was living as well as at his parents’ home.
Saadi used the name “Ninja Killer” for his Snapchat account and also used the username “NSkills” on his computer.
It can now be reported that Saadi touched himself while in his prison cell ahead of the trial after he asked a female prison officer how much publicity the case was getting.
Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, had argued in court that the jury should hear this account as it provided a possible motive for the attack but the judge ruled that it was prejudicial so could not be used as evidence.
And in February an allegation of stalking was made against Saadi, which led the Metropolitan Police to refer itself to the police watchdog over its handling of the incident.
Saadi, a student at Greenwich University, who was studying for a degree in criminology and criminal psychology after dropping out of a physical education course, had carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings.
Lecturer Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss told the court Saadi had asked questions on “how to get away with murder”, which had led her to ask him: “You’re not planning a murder are you?”
The court was told Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 and was shown on CCTV carrying out “recces” of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24.
During his stay at the Dorset resort, the defendant, who is a fan of horror movies, went to the cinema to see “slasher” movie The Strangers – Chapter 1.
Suggesting a motive for the attack, Ms Jones said: “This defendant seems to have wanted to know what it would be like to take life, perhaps he wanted to know what it would be like to make women feel afraid, perhaps he thought it would make him feel powerful, make him interesting to others.
“Perhaps he just couldn’t bear to see people engaged in a happy, normal social interaction and he decided to lash out, to hurt, to butcher.”
The defendant, who chose not to give evidence, admitted visiting Bournemouth but denied the offences and had claimed not to be the man shown in the CCTV footage, claiming it was a case of mistaken identity.
He told police in an interview that he might have “blacked out” and had no memory of the period that included the attacks.
He also pleaded guilty to failing to provide his mobile phone’s pin code to police.
The defendant, wearing glasses and a blue sweatshirt, took a step backwards as the verdict was announced but otherwise showed no emotion.
The jury of five women and seven men took five hours and 36 minutes to reach its verdicts.
The judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, adjourned the case for a psychiatric report to be prepared on the defendant before sentencing to be held on March 28.
She said: “He is still a young man, not 21 until next week, I have sight of a psychiatric report which shows that he is a man who may have autism spectrum disorder.
“It is unclear if that is the case and if so whether that had any impact on this case.
“Whatever the impact, any minimum term is going to be extremely long. It’s my duty to find out as much as I can about him especially if it affects culpability before I make that decision.
“I am going to adjourn sentence in this case until 28th March.”
She told the defendant: “You have been convicted of the most serious of crimes, there is only one sentence that can follow that verdict of this jury and that is a sentence of imprisonment for life.
“You should be under no illusion, the minimum term in this case will be of considerable length but I need to know more before I make that decision.”
Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins, of Dorset Police, praised Ms Gray’s “selfless bravery” in saving Leanne’s life during the attack that “tragically cost her own”.
Speaking outside court, he said: “Amie and Leanne were enjoying an early summer evening at the beach in May and were totally unaware of the presence of the defendant, a complete stranger to them.
“He had selected them as his target that night after several weeks of planning to come to Bournemouth to kill someone.
“The first they were aware of him was when he launched his attack as they sat on the sand in the moonlight. They were taken completely by surprise, yet Amie shouted for him to leave Leanne alone. Her selfless bravery that night saved Leanne’s life, but tragically cost her own.”
Benjamin May, a senior crown prosecutor with CPS Wessex, said: “This was a senseless attack which shocked the people of Bournemouth – and our deepest condolences remain with Amie Gray’s family.
“Though both victims were chosen at random, Nasen Saadi’s unfathomable desire to carry out a murder was backed up by extensive planning – which included going to great lengths to avoid getting caught.
“Now he has been convicted and faces life behind bars, I hope he will be forgotten.
“In contrast, we hope that Amie’s memory will live on; as a much-loved young woman and a pillar of her community, who bravely and selflessly defended her friend in the face of a terrifying attack.”
