Wikipedia

Murder of Zara Aleena

For the 11-month-old baby girl with the nickname "Zara" who was murdered in Malaysia, see Murder of Zara.

On 26 June 2022, law graduate Zara Aleena, aged 35 was sexually assaulted and murdered by Jordan McSweeney as she was walking home in Ilford, East London.[1][2] The murder attracted attention after it was discovered McSweeney had committed numerous other offences and should have been recalled to prison.

Zara Aleena 1986-2022

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"We didn’t have much, growing up, but we always valued education and we just thought: Zara is going to have it all," her aunt, Farah Naz, said. "And so she had it all – museums, galleries, travel. She was the family darling. It’s as if a thief came into our family home and took the heart of it. If it had been me who was murdered, right now it would be Zara sitting in front of you. She was a lioness. She was protective of women’s rights, and she always wanted to fight for justice. Zara would be screaming from the rooftops.”[3]

"She's a family person, but she's more than a family person," Naz told the BBC. "She's also a loyal friend and community person so she would give herself to people and that interrupted some of her studies, which is why she didn't get it done as fast as she would have liked. She had a great balance, but she did do a lot of things. She really pushed herself, Zara never sat down. She was working, studying, thinking, planning, dreaming but she wasn't a dreamer, she was acting towards her dreams. One of the reasons she wanted to become a lawyer was because equality for women was something she fought for. She never saw herself as less than a man. She never, ever assumed that a man would see her less than either. She never thought that. She always saw herself as equal, as strong, as powerful, as capable [as a man] - she thought she could help everyone."She had a big heart. She had empathy, sympathy, compassion and she wanted to change things."[4]

Aleena had begun working at the Royal Courts of Justice five weeks before her death.[1]

Murder

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Around 2 am on 26 June 2022, Aleena left a bar on Ilford High Street close to Ilford railway station and began walking up Cranbrook Road towards Valentines Park. At the same time, McSweeney had been thrown out of a bar for harassing staff and had subsequently approached several other women. At 2:17am, Aleena was violently attacked by McSweeney, after he had followed two other women, on Cranbrook Road. She was discovered collapsed on a driveway, struggling to breathe, given CPR, and was taken to the Royal London Hospital where she died of her injuries.[5]

Aftermath

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The murder occurred nine days after McSweeney was released from prison on licence, having been jailed for robbery. A subsequent report in The Guardian said an attempt was made to recall him to prison two days before the murder, and suggested he should not have been released in the first place. The Metropolitan Police conducted an internal review after reports were published that McSweeney had been convicted 28 times for 69 earlier offences, including nine separate spells in prison, and ought to have been recalled. McSweeney had also had a history of violence and abuse, and a restraining order was taken out against him in 2021.[1][2] Concern had been raised on 22 June, four days before the murder, after McSweeney failed to show for two appointments. Two days later, the Metropolitan Police attempted to arrest him, but he was not at the address on their records.[1]

The Chief Inspector of Probation said the failure to assess McSweeney was caused by a lack of probation officers. London was highlighted as particularly problematic, with around half of posts remaining to be filled in some London boroughs.[2]

On 18 November 2022, in court at the Old Bailey, McSweeney admitted the murder and sexual assault of Zara Aleena via videolink and pleaded guilty to the charges made against him.[6][7][8] On 14 December 2022, the judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb sentenced McSweeney to life imprisonment with a minimum prison term of 38 years.[1] McSweeney was also given a four-year term for sexual assault, a sentence that will run concurrently with that served for murder. At sentencing, the judge said she did not believe McSweeney's actions on the night of the killing were an "aberration";[9] and described McSweeney as "a pugnacious and deeply violent man with a propensity to violence".[10] During the hearing and at sentencing, McSweeney refused to leave prison to appear before the court;[11] with his defending barrister, George Carter-Stephenson KC, saying his client "did not want to relive the incident" knowing that CCTV footage would be played at the hearing. In response to McSweeney's refusal to attend, the judge described McSweeney as having "no spine whatsoever".[10]

In October 2023, McSweeney appealed for a reduction in his prison term.[12] The original sentence meant he would not become eligible to be considered for parole until 7 August 2059.[13] At the appeal, McSweeney's barrister Carter-Stephenson KC, said the sentencing judge had misevaluated the "aggravating features" in the case, arguing that although there was an accepted sexual motive to the crime, the murder itself was not premeditated, telling the court "the attack was an opportunistic act rather than anything that was planned in advance."[12] His barrister also argued that McSweeney's ADHD should have been taken into account when he was sentenced in December 2022.[12] On 3 November 2023, three court judges at the court of appeal in London ruled that the sentencing judge had imposed too high an “uplift” to the minimum term, reducing the sentence by five years to a minimum term of 33 years.[14][15][16] The revised sentence set a new parole eligibility date of 25 October 2053.[17]

In January 2023, the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak said the murder was a "terrible crime", and announced the government would take urgent action to review how McSweeney was incorrectly assessed for medium risk.[18]

Investigation and Inquest

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On 6 July 2022 Coroner Nadia Persaud commenced an investigation and inquest into Aleena's death.[19]

HMMPS reported to have taken the following actions as a result of the failings highlighted:

  • urgent review of risk assessment processes
  • improved quality of risk assessments
  • enhanced information sharing between prisons and probation. New supervisory post to close the gap
  • training on trauma informed practices and neurodiversity
  • regular monitoring and reporting on progress
  • a decision not to release offenders on Fridays

The MPS have made the following changes:

  • extension of fugitive team who are charged with using additional intelligence to locate offenders who are on recall to operate over the weekend.
  • fugitive team to have daily management of all recall to prison cases where arrest is not initially achieved
  • the Ops room is now instructed to carry out their own risk assessment
  • To try all known addresses as an initial response to recall
  • to improve briefing for duty chief inspectors on risk
  • appointment and additional training for a Recall to Prison Locate Officer                       

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Weaver, Matthew (14 December 2022). "Zara Aleena murder: Jordan McSweeney jailed for at least 38 years". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Zara Aleena killer wrongly assessed as medium risk by probation". BBC News. 24 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ^ Shackle, Samira (2023-01-14). "'A thief came into our family and took the heart out of it': the killing of Zara Aleena". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  4. ^ "Zara Aleena's aunt wants to speak to UK leaders". BBC News. 1 July 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Zara Aleena murder: Jordan McSweeney jailed for at least 38 years". BBC News. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Man pleads guilty to murder and sexual assault of woman | The Crown Prosecution Service". www.cps.gov.uk. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  7. ^ "Zara Aleena murder: Jordan McSweeney admits kicking law graduate to death". BBC News. 2022-11-18. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  8. ^ Wace, Charlotte (2022-11-18). "Zara Aleena: Jordan McSweeney pleads guilty to Ilford murder". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  9. ^ "Zara Aleena murder: Jordan McSweeney jailed for at least 38 years". BBC News. 2022-12-14. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  10. ^ a b Weaver, Matthew (2022-12-14). "Zara Aleena murder: Jordan McSweeney jailed for at least 38 years". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  11. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-63970290
  12. ^ a b c "Zara Aleena's killer Jordan McSweeney leaves sentence appeal hearing". BBC News. 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  13. ^ "Criminal sentence – Jordan Clive James McSweeney". The Law Pages. 14 December 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2023.
  14. ^ "Zara Aleena killer Jordan McSweeney wins sentence appeal". BBC. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  15. ^ Grierson, Jamie (2023-11-03). "Man who killed Zara Aleena wins appeal over minimum term of life sentence". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-09-25.
  16. ^ "Court of Appeal written judgment in Jordan McSweeney v R (press summary)" (PDF). judiciary.uk. Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 3 November 2023.
  17. ^ "Criminal sentence – Jordan Clive James McSweeney – Court of Appeal". The Law Pages. 3 November 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2023.
  18. ^ "Rishi Sunak - Prime Minister's Questions". BBC News. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Zara Aleena: Prevention of Future Deaths Report". Courts and Tribunals Judiciary. 2 August 2024. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
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