The murder of London primary teacher Sabina Nessa has led to a new outpouring of concern about women’s safety and left many wondering anxiously about what happened.
Ms Nessa had been walking to meet a friend at a pub in Kidbrooke, south east London, on a journey that should have taken just five minutes when she was fatally attacked near Cator Park on Friday.
Her body was found near the OneSpace community centre at Kidbrooke Park Road in the Royal Borough of Greenwich on Saturday.
Now investigators are desperately trying to find out why she was killed, if her attacker could strike again and if Ms Nessa knew her killer. Police are still questioning a 36-year-old man arrested in Eastbourne Sussex on Sunday at 3am.
They have not charged him with any murder.
Here we take a look at some of the key unanswered questions so far:
Q: How could she be killed on a five-minute walk through what police believe was probably a busy park?
A: Even the cause of Ms Nessa’s death is unknown after a post-mortem proved inconclusive, but detectives believe some members of the public will have seen Sabina or her killer on Friday evening and could help solve what is so far a mystery.
Q: Was this a stranger attack?
A: This is unknown, but in the apparent absence so far of any clear leads that the crime was carried out by a person known to Ms Nessa police are not discounting this possibility and are mounting extra patrols.
Q: Is this tragedy part of a wider problem of violence against women?
A: Yes, because whatever the facts turn out to be, a young woman has died violently on a short evening walk that anyone should be able to complete in safety. Whether specific opportunities to prevent her killer striking might have been missed will only be known once the culprit is caught and the investigation and prosecution completed.
Q: Is there any sign of an imminent breakthrough in the investigation?
A: This is hard to say because detectives often keep details of their progress secret to avoid hindering their investigation. But Thursday’s renewed appeal and the large number of officers deployed indicates that at least some important evidence is still needed. Although most murders are solved relatively quickly, that’s not guaranteed and will be harder if it does turn out to be stranger attack.
