Zara Aleena murder: Sentencing of killer Jordan McSweeney
Reporting from the Old Bailey for the sentencing of Jordan McSweeney for the murder of Zara Aleena
A man who pleaded guilty to murdering Zara Aleena is being sentenced at the Old Bailey today.
Jordan McSweeney, 29, of Dagenham, east London, also pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the 35-year-old law graduate.
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Ms Aleena died from multiple injuries after she was kicked and stamped on by Mr McSweeney in the early hours of June 26.
Zara Aleena murder: Sentencing of killer Jordan McSweeney
BREAKING: Jordan McSweeney sentenced to minimum of 38 years in prison
Jordan McSweeney has been sentenced to a minimum of 38 years in prison for the murder of Zara Aleena.
Justice Cheema Grubb has requested for McSweeney to appear for sentencing.
Justice Cheema Grubb has asked McSweeney’s barrister to encourage him to appear in the dock to receive his sentencing.
There is a short break while waiting for McSweeney to appear.
McSweeney’s barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC takes issue with some of the CCTV footage shown of him pursuing other women.
“He was not roaming the streets looking for a woman to kill,” he said.
“There is no evidence that he would have gone on to kill those women.”
He argued that the murder of Zara Aleena wasn’t pre-meditated and occurred during the struggle of their encounter.
McSweeney’s barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC says he was ‘deprived of love.'
“There is very little that can be said on McSweeney’s behalf that can explain his actions.
“He has accepted his responsibility for it.
“His childhood was far from ideal, his mother was a drug addict.
“In his words she is very spiteful, vindictive and a poisonous person.
“His father was hardly ever around.
“His first memory of his father was when he tried to drown his mother in the bath.
“Social services only became involved when he was 15.
“He had never had the benefit of any parental help.
“Domestic violence was something he grew up with as the norm.”
Carter-Stephenson KC said that McSweeney suffers from ADHD, a personality disorder and substance abuse.
Victim impact statement from Zara Aleena’s grandmother Rashda Parveen
Zara Aleena’s grandmother Rashda Parveen delivers a victim impact statement from the witness box. She tearfully said:
“I lost my first grandchild.
“She brought peace and happiness to my heart.
“Like a child she was innocent.
“She received a distinction in her studies.
“I have no peace anymore.
“My daughter has lost her only child.
“My pain is for my daughter who sleeps with Zara’s photographs.
“My pain is for my granddaughter who died in such suffering.”
Zara Aleena’s aunt Farah Naz delivers a victim statement
Zara Aleena’s aunt Farah Naz tearfully delivers a victim impact statement from the witness box. She said:
“Zara was murdered in 20 minutes in a senseless and brutal attack.
“When a human is murdered a family is murdered.
“Zara lost the right to live her life and to die a natural death.
“She lost the chance to enjoy the fruits of her hard work and to own her own home.
“She was mercilessly stamped on to her death.
“Every dream she had was destroyed by someone she didn’t even know.
“She was just walking home.
“If she were able to speak here today she would say I didn’t do anything wrong.
“Five and a half months on we still struggle to believe that this horror is true.
“We are trapped in a constant loop of torturous images.
“Months have passed but we don’t feel time.
“We can and have to learn with the death of her loved one.
“How can we live with how she faced her death?
“We have a life sentence with no reproof.
“The lights have gone out in our family home.”
Demonstrations outside the Old Bailey
Outside the Old Bailey demonstrators from domestic abuse charity Refuge are holding a peaceful protest to demand an end of violence against women and girls.
CCTV footage shows Jordan McSweeney followed three other women that night
The prosecution spent over an hour detailing what happened on the night of Zara Aleena’s murder.
On the night of June 25, Jordan McSweeney had left a pub in Ilford and had roamed the streets looking for a woman to attack and to sexually assault.
QC Oliver Glasgow showed several clips of CCTV footage showing how McSweeney following three different women and interacting with another before attacking Aleena.
The 35-year-old was minutes away from her home before McSweeney grabbed her from behind and “savagely” attacked her.
He repeatedly kicked and stamped on her head and body; he tore some of her clothes from her body in order that he could sexually assault her; and then he attacked her again, kicking and stamping on her face and neck, and returning several times to continue the brutal violence.
Finally, once satisfied that she would no longer be able to report him for what he had done, he walked away, taking her mobile telephone with him which he threw over a garden wall, thus ensuring that neither she nor anyone else who might find her could use the phone to call for help.
Jordan McSweeney refuses to appear in dock
We’re at the Old Bailey today for the sentencing of Jordan McSweeney for the murder of 35-year-old Zara Aleena.
McSweeney, 29, has previously pleaded guilty to murdering the law graduate in Ilford in the early hours of June 26.
McSweeney has refused to appear in the dock this morning for his sentencing as he does not want to “relive” the CCTV footage that is due to be shown.
