Sex offender serving life sentence for murder stabs prison guard with china shard

Petrol station worker Koci Selamaj, 37, was sentenced to life imprisonment in April 2022 for murdering 28-year-old Nessa as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke, south-east London.

He admitted wounding a guard with intent to cause actual bodily harm at Frankland Prison, a maximum security prison near Durham, and assaulting another guard causing actual bodily harm in May 2023.

On Wednesday, Judge Penny Moreland sentenced him to four and a half years in prison and said he should be treated for his mental illness at the Broadmoor closed hospital until he is well enough to return to prison operations.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that Selamaj was in his cell when a prison guard asked him if he was going to lunch.

The life prisoner let out a scream and began smashing his toilet before arming himself with a piece of porcelain and attacking the guard.

The officer, who suffered stab wounds to his knee and forearm, was helped by colleagues, one of whom was punched in the face two or three times by Selamaj.

The judge found that the piece of porcelain was sharp enough to be considered a blade.

In the victim's statement, the stabbed officer stated that he had never been attacked in his ten years as a security guard and that he loved his job.

He said: “His strength was incredible, I am very happy because it could have been worse.

“Selamaj is in prison for murder, so I know what he is capable of.”

Defence lawyer Aidan Harvey said Selamaj heard voices and thought “the electricity in the wall was talking to him”, and noted his mental state had improved since receiving treatment at Broadmoor.

Judge Moreland was told that Selamaj must be at least 73 years old before he could apply for parole.

She stipulated that he would not have to begin serving his sentence for attacking the prison guards until he had served the minimum sentence for the murder of Ms Nessa.

Selamaj followed the event via video link from Broadmoor.

He had refused to appear in court when he was convicted of Ms Nessa's murder at the Old Bailey, sparking widespread outrage.

This court heard how he travelled from the south coast to London to carry out the deliberate attack on a randomly selected woman on September 17, 2021.

He targeted Ms. Nessa as she walked through the park to meet a friend.

Surveillance camera footage showed Selamaj running up to her from behind and hitting her on the head 34 times with a 60 cm long metal triangle.

He carried her unconscious body to a grassy embankment and out of sight.

Then he pulled up her clothes, took off her tights and underwear, strangled her and covered her body with grass.

Ms Nessa, who taught a first class at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, was found nearly 24 hours later near a community centre in the park.

A few days later, Selamaj, from Eastbourne in East Sussex, was arrested in the seaside town and pleaded guilty to murder.

Judge Sweeney said in his verdict that it was a “brutal” sexually motivated attack.