An amateur photographer has told a court about a “nasty” man with a “grimacing, frowning” face he saw walking away from the scene of a fatal stabbing on Bournemouth beach front.
Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, south London, is on trial charged with the murder of physical trainer Amie Gray, 34, at Durley Chine Beach, West Undercliff Promenade, on May 24, and the attempted murder of Leanne Miles at the same location.
Keen photographer Michael Priddle told Winchester Crown Court that he had gone to the seafront that night to take photos of bird life as well as the rising full moon.
He said that he had left the seafront at about 11.40pm to walk back up to the cliff top past a Victorian shelter on his way home when he heard two loud screams from the beach area.
Mr Priddle said: “It did strike me as something a bit loud, it had more body to it, it had a bit more depth and there was a second scream, not quite so loud which was broken, it didn’t peter off if you know what I mean.”
He said that within three to five minutes, he saw a man wearing dark trousers and a black, hooded coat with a band of colour around the front, walking towards him.
Mr Priddle said: “He had a hood up, the hood was slightly over his cheek, he was in full view, he had a striking coat which was black, it had a coloured marking.”
He said that the man had “bum fluff” on his face, explaining that he meant “unshaven hair around the lips of a young person”.
He added that he felt “very concerning for my own safety, he seemed not a nice person” because of “his grimacing and frown”.
He continued: “I seriously kept an eye on him for my safety, I kept walking.”
Mr Priddle added: “He looked a nasty person, I also kept an eye on him when he walked past the young couple in the Victorian shelter.”
Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, has told the jury that Mr Priddle picked Saadi’s image out of an identity parade of 10 photos three days after the fatal incident.
The court has heard that Saadi, who was a criminology student at Greenwich University, had researched defences for murder and forensic tests and the prosecution have claimed he may have killed Ms Gray because he seemed to want “to know what it would be like to take life”.
The defendant, who has pleaded guilty to failing to provide his mobile phone code to police, denies the charges and the trial continues.
