Koci Selamaj: ‘Evil coward’ who killed primary school teacher was domestic abuser who throttled wife

Police and victim’s family ‘frustrated’ by refusal to answer questions about Sabina Nessa’s murder, reports Lizzie Dearden

Sabina Nessa was a primary school teacher, and was murdered last September (PA Wire)

The “evil coward” who murdered primary school teacher Sabina Nessa was a domestic abuser who previously throttled his wife.

Koci Selamaj, 36, had no previous convictions or “interaction with the police” of any kind, detectives said.

But following the murder in September last year, his estranged wife disclosed to investigators that she had been the victim of abuse and fled their home in fear for her life.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil John, who led the investigation, told a press briefing: “She revealed that there was domestic violence in that relationship, and part of that domestic violence had involved her on three occasions being throttled around the neck. None of that had been reported to police.”

During a sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey on Thursday, prosecutor Alison Morgan QC said Selamaj’s abuse had started with controlling and coercive behaviour from May 2021 onwards, when he started “dictating how she should behave”.

“It then escalated into physical aggression,” she told the court. “His behaviour was such that she became fearful for her life and she decided to leave him and the address they shared.”

Koci Selamaj walking in Pegler Square in south-east London on the evening Sabina Nessa was attacked (PA Wire)

In August, his wife was offered a place to stay at the hotel where she worked after colleagues became concerned that she was having to use rooms for showers and carried her belongings in bags.

“Once in the safety of accommodation at the hotel [Selamaj’s wife] revealed to members of staff that she had been the subject of repeated abuse by the defendant.” Ms Morgan said.

“She demonstrated to them because her English was broken how he had tried to strangle her on three occasions. She also indicated that he had grabbed her and struck her.”

On 14 September Selamaj visited The Grand Hotel in Eastbourne, where his wife worked, to book a room. He booked himself in for one night on 17 September, the day of the murder, for £325.

He checked in that afternoon and at about 6pm, called his wife saying he wanted to meet her in his car.

They met in a car park near the hotel and he drove her to a nearby Tesco, where his wife bumped into one of her work colleagues and had a conversation with her.

She told police that when they returned to the same car park Selamaj was “very agitated” and climbed into the back seat.

Koci Selamaj pleaded guilty to murder (PA Wire)

“He then tried to convince me to move at the back of the car, next to him,” she added. “I think that he wanted to have sex in the car. I don’t know what was bothering him, but he was very agitated.

“I refused to move next to him at the back of the car and remained in the front passenger seat. Shortly after I left. I waited for him to drive off, as I didn’t want him to see where I live.”

Selamaj then drove off, initially heading towards Brighton before changing direction and driving towards London and into Kidbrooke.

After the murder, he drove back to the Grand Hotel, stayed the night and then returned to work the following day as if nothing had happened.

Floral tributes at Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south London (PA Archive)

DCI John said Selamaj, who did not answer questions in police interviews, had not disclosed any reason for staying in the hotel when he lived a short distance away.

He said the move appeared “absolutely bonkers, unless it was a way of rubbing [his wife’s] nose in it”.

“This has had a huge impact on her, to the point she has now returned to Romania,” the officer added.

Ms Morgan commended the courage of Selamaj’s wife and said she contacted police after seeing photos of him in media coverage of the murder.

“She was devastated to learn what the defendant had done,” she added.

Selamaj strangled Ms Nessa as part of his brutal attack, after striking her head repeatedly with a metal warning triangle from his car boot.

People at a vigil for Sabina Nessa at Eastbourne Pier in East Sussex (PA Wire)

He had been “skulking in the shadows” of Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London, looking for a victim when the 28-year-old teacher happened to cross his path.

DCI John called Selamaj an “evil coward” and said he attacked his victim from behind.

“It was a premeditated, sexually motivated murder,” he added. “It’s highly unusual for someone to go from zero [convictions] to a crime of this magnitude, I certainly haven’t come across this before, but that is certainly the way it appears at the moment.”

Selamaj was born in Albania and moved to the UK in 2017. As part of the investigation, police and the National Crime Agency searched databases for any similar unsolved crimes.

There were no positive hits, and officers then sent a package of biometric data, DNA, fingerprints and other details to 16 countries, including Albania. None to date have linked Selamaj to any other offences.

He did not respond to questions in police interviews and was “calm and collected throughout”, officers said.

Selamaj pleaded guilty to murder but did not explain his motivation, reason for travelling to Kidbrooke or targeting Ms Nessa.

DCI John said he had accepted that the murder was sexually motivated but that both police and his victim’s family were “frustrated” by the lack of answers.

He added that women and girls in London should feel safe anywhere in public or at home, at day or night, and that Ms Nessa “had every right to feel safe walking through the park”.

The officer pledged that the Metropolitan Police would continue “relentless efforts to identify those that carry out these crimes and bring them to justice”.