Bournemouth beach killer inflicted horrifying injuries on victims after sinister 'recces'

A criminology student patrolled a beachfront promenade to scout out victims before launching his brutal attack on two innocent women.

Nasen Saadi, 20, has today been found guilty of the murder of 34-year-old Amie Gray on Bournemouth beach and the attempted murder of Leanne Miles at the same location. Harrowing CCTV footage shows true-crime fantastic Saadi going for walks along Durley Chine Beach during his stay at the holiday resort.

Clips show the murderer, who referred to himself as Ninja killer on Snapchat, walking past his two victims on the day of the frenzied stabbing on May 24 before returning to the friends who had been chatting next to a fire to keep warm.

Their terrifying screams were captured on camera as he launched into an act "horrifying in its savagery and in its randomness". During the trial at Winchester Crown Court, Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue said that Ms Gray died as a result of "multiple stab wounds".

Nasen Saadi was seen 'loitering' around the seafront on the day of the stabbing of Amie Gray, according to the prosecution (Image:CPS/Solent News & Photo Agency)

The expert explained that the most serious pass of the blade would have required "severe force" to go through the breast bone. The vicious attack caused a puncture to Amie's pericardial sac – the bag surrounding the heart – which meant that her heart could not beat properly.

He explained that Amie suffered a total of 10 "passes of a knife and two exit wounds", including an injury to her left upper arm, which he said went 10cm into the body and cut the brachial artery which could also have been life-threatening. The pathologist also said that she suffered cuts which might have been defensive injuries as she held up her arms to defend herself.

Dr Purdue said that Leanne, now aged 39, had 20 knife injuries, mainly to her back, and suffered a collapsed lung and a punctured liver. He said that the injuries to both women were likely to have been caused by a knife with a blade of between 5cm and 7cm long with "a single sharp edge and a finely-squared back edge". The expert added: "Any stab wound is potentially very dangerous, if you stab someone you can cause rapidly life-threatening injuries. Stabbing is a very dangerous method of attack."

A court artist sketch showed Nasen Saadi appearing via video link (Image:PA)

Sian Gray (right) with her wife Amie Gray who died after being stabbed (Image:PA)

The jury was shown harrowing CCTV footage which Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, said showed Saadi's movements in the days before the attack as well as the fatal incident itself. The footage shows the killer going for walks along the promenade during the evenings of his stay in Bournemouth, which Ms Jones has suggested were "recces" for the fatal attack.

The court heard that Saadi initially booked into a Travelodge hotel in Bournemouth on May 21 before moving to the nearby Silver How hotel on May 23. On the day of the attack, May 24, video shows a man buying wet wipes and nail clippers at a Superdrug store in Bournemouth town centre before also going for a walk along the sea front to buy an ice cream in the afternoon.

He denies the charges and the trial continues (Image:CPS/Solent News & Photo Agency)

The jury was then shown clips of Leanne arriving at Durley Chine at 9.10pm followed by Amie, who also worked as a football coach, wearing shorts and sports clothing, at 9.47pm. The prosecution said that Saadi is then shown in the footage to leave his hotel at 10.43pm and walk down to the seafront before going along the promenade towards Durley Chine. The chilling film shows a man striding past the victims sat on the beach before walking on to the sand and then returning along the promenade towards them.

He then "loiters" in the area, going on to the sand and off again before he approaches the two victims sat on the beach next to the small fire at 11.38pm. The man can be seen attacking the two women before one of the pair manages to get onto the promenade, and he is seen running across the sand towards her before running away again.

The prosecution said that the footage then shows Saadi arriving back at the Silver How hotel at 11.50pm. Saadi, who was studying criminology and criminal psychology at Greenwich University, admitted to staying in Bournemouth at the time of the attack but denied being the person shown on the CCTV.

He told police that he could not remember that period of time and said he might have "blacked out", that his arrest had been a case of "mistaken identity" and he had "no reason to attack someone for no reason".