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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Ben Mitchell

Jury hears screams from CCTV recording of beach attack which killed Amie Gray

Amie Gray (Dorset Police/PA) -

A jury has been played an audio recording of the attack on Bournemouth beach which killed physical trainer Amie Gray and seriously injured her friend.

Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, south London, is on trial at Winchester Crown Court charged with the murder of 34-year-old Ms Gray at Durley Chine Beach, West Undercliff Promenade, on May 24, and the attempted murder of Leanne Miles at the same location.

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue has told the trial that Ms Gray died as a result of 10 knife wounds while Ms Miles suffered 20 knife injuries.

Footage from a nearby CCTV camera was shown to the jury which visually showed seating for Chineside cafe but the sounds of extended screaming could be heard as well as a male voice.

Court artist sketch Nasen Saadi appearing at Winchester Crown Court (Elizabeth Cook/PA) (PA Wire)

In video footage shown to the jury of a police interview with the defendant recorded on May 31, detectives asked Saadi if he had carried out the attack.

Wearing a grey jumper with his arms crossed, the defendant replied: “I am not responsible and I have no reason to attack someone for no reason.”

He added: “I am wrongly accused of mistaken identity, mistakes can happen and I am not responsible.”

Saadi continued: “I think just because someone is wearing the same clothes is circumstantial.”

When asked where he was at the time of the attack, he replied “no comment” and when asked if he was the person in the CCTV footage of the incident, he replied: “Beaches are popular places, many people, CCTV shows there were many people walking, it’s not just one person.”

And when asked if he was that person, he replied: “No.”

The defendant has been charged with a further count of wounding Ms Miles with intent to cause grievous bodily harm as an alternative to the attempted murder charge.

He pleaded not guilty to the extra charge and also denies the charges of murder and attempted murder.

Saadi, who was studying criminology at Greenwich University, has pleaded guilty to failing to give his phone pin number to police.

Charles Sherrard KC, defending, told the jury that his client would not be giving evidence from the witness box and there was no other evidence to be given as part of the defence case.

Summing up the evidence, the judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, told the jury that offences can create feelings of “outrage and sympathy” but told the jurors to put any such feelings on one side.

She added: “Emotion of any kind doesn’t assist when deciding whether the evidence against the defendant is sufficiently proved.”

The trial continues.

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