Trial Sentencing and Lasting Legacy

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Start advertising on podcasts by visiting acast d. com slash advertise In may twenty twenty four, two friends sat on a quiet beach in Bournemouth under a full moon beside a small fire Amy Gray and her friend Leanne Miles weren't causing any trouble They weren't in a crowd or surrounded by noise or chaos They were enjoying some peace by the sea But within minutes, that moment of calm turned into something unthinkable. Both women were stabbed in a sudden and brutal attack by a complete stranger. As the investigation unfolded, a chilling picture began to emerge one that would stretch from the Dorset Castline to South London. and into the digital footprint of a man who'd spent weeks quietly planning the attack, from over one hundred miles away. In this episode of British Murders with Stuart Blues, we're looking at the murder of Amy Gray and the attempted murder of Leanne Miles. It's a case that began with a peaceful night on the beach ended with a carefully planned attack that left a family devastated and a community searching for answers. Before we get into today's case, I've got a quick favor to ask If you're listening to this on a podcast app Please make sure you're following the show. It doesn't cost a thing, but it really helps British murders reach more people who care about these sort of stories Ratings and reviews make a huge difference too, thanks if you've already left one And if you'd like add free episodes, early access and a load of exclusive content you want hear on the main feed, you can find all of that over at patreon. com forward slash British Murders Amy Gray was thirty four years old when her life was taken just a couple of years ago in the most senseless and shocking of circumstances. Born Amit Louise Maclan, she was from Pool in Dorset, which is a coastal town on England's south coast. It's a lovely part of the country is pool. It's home to Europe's largest natural harbour for a start and has an historic quayside that's often filled with fishing boats, luxury yachts and visiting tall ships You've got the old town with its cobbled streets and maritime history the stunning Jurassic Cse nearby and the new forest just a short drive away It's the sort of place people go on holiday to unwind Amy though, it wasn't a holiday destination It was h and family meant everything to her She had her mum, Sharon, and she was incredibly close to her brothers Liam and Ryan When Liam and his wife Lisa had their first daughter They chose Ame to be a godmother. It wasn't a role she simply accepted out of politeness either. embraced it wholeheartedly It was a real honor Lisa later spoke about how much Amy adored their eldest daughter. This is before the second one came along Amy would often tell her that the little girl brought out feelings in her, she couldn't quite explain. And that she almost saw it as one of her own Amy was even planning for her to have her own room whenever she moved into a new place It tells you a lot about the kind of family oriented person she was Liam and Lisa's second daughter was even given Amy's middle name of Louise, which says just as much about how loved and respected she was by those around her And by all accounts, she was the fun auntie too Lisa remembered how A mate would sneakily finish off her eldest vegetables before her mum noticed, and how she'd happily take her off to the park for some playground adventures Those are the sort of memories that seemed small at the time, especially to us adults Kid Priceless Even more so when that person is no longer here Amy was married to Shan Grey and together they had a daughter of their own Charan later described her as being the most loving wife and mother she could ever have hoped to share a life with She spoke of Amy's huge smile. her infectious giggle and a larger than life personality. Brave, strong, and fiercely independent someomeone who was always trying to improve herself and become a better version of who she was the previous day Professionally, things were going well for it too Emid started working at just seventeen years old. In twenty twenty four, she was a personal trainer. and the head coach of Dorset Footstle Club's ladies team Now if you're not familiar with foot sal, I'm not saying football. I'm saying foot sal F UT SAL. It's essentially football's smaller faster cousin, if you like, which FIFA officially recognizes as a version of the beautiful game There are five players on each side instead of eleven, unlimited substitutions, a smaller ball, and matches tend to be incredibly fast paced and technical Blinker you'll miss something kind of thing And Amy absolutely. loveve de. She joined Dorset Footsl Club in january twenty twenty four and threw herself into the role Around the same time, she'd also earned her FA coaching badge, which isn't something you pick up overnight It takes commitment, hard work, and a genuine passion for the game to achieve any coaching badge, of which there are various levels There's a photograph online of Amy proudly holding a Club Woman of the Year A awward for the twenty twenty three twenty four season To be honest, in every single photo I've seen, there's one common denominator It's Emmy's beaming smile. It's a sort of smile that tells you somebody is genuinely happy to be there Living and loving life to the fullest. Her friends described her as beautiful inside and out. People said she was the person you could ring and chapter when life was going wrong She was the person who'd listen without judgment and somehow make things feel a bit better than they were One of her cousins described Amy as being her safe place someomebody who always made her feel welcome, loved and accepted whenever they were together. And despite everything she already had going on in her own life Amy also helped care for her ninety year old grandma who was living with Alzheimer's disease As I researched this case, one thing became impossible to ignore The sheer volume of tributes that came pouring in after Amy were killed They were from friends, family members, work colleagues, teammates, former teammates, people she'd coached Everywhere you look, there are messages from people describing the same woman Common words include kind Funny, loving, supportive. She could light up a room without even trying by the sounds of it. She comes across as one of those rare people who made life better simply by being a part of it which makes what happened to her all the more devastating On the evening of Friday, may twenty fourth, twenty twenty four Amy met with her friend, Leonne Miles prettyretty ordinary Friday night as far as I can tell just two friends catching up Having a chat and spending some time together on a scarcely populated British beach. Just before eleven forty PM They were sitting on Durly Chine Beach in Bournemouth beside a small fire they had lit Above them was a full moon And apart from that, the fire and the lights running along the promenade behind them They were surrounded Darkness The two women weren't bothering anybody. Not that there was anyone to bother at that time of night And they weren't part of a big gathering or causing trouble in any way. They were simply enjoying each other's company minding their own business in the process Diryhine Beach is about a ten minute walk west of Baondnmouth's Main Beach During the day, it's say a popular spot with families thanks to its wide stretch of golden sand and shallow waters It's one of those beaches that feels a million miles away from the hustle and bustle of the town despite being so close to it Bommouth itself lies around five miles east of Ple and is famous for its miles of coastline, parks, gardens and nature reserves. In the summer months it's packed with visitors enjoying the seaside. On that particular night though quiet as can be. Two women were completely alone Also they thought instant, everything suddenly changed At around eleven forty two PM, Dorset pololice receiveed reports that two women had been stabbed on the beach, which led to emergency services rush into the scene P paramedics arrived, they found Amy collapsed on the sand, suffering from stab wounds Sadly, despite their best efforts to save her There was nothing anyone could do Amy was soon pronounced dead at the scene Leanne, meanwhile, had also suffered serious injuries during the attack Somehow, she survived. but only just Among her injuries was a collapsed lung and as news of the attack spread Police officers immediately sealed off the area rendering the beach a no go zone for any locals and would be holidaymakers that weekend This early Chin beach was now a major crime scene. Officers with metal detectors combed the sand while specialist search teams and sniffer dogs worked across the area Investigators were clearly searching for crucial evidence. And many suspected they were trying to locate the weapon used in the attack At one stage, specialist officers were even seen absiling down the cliffs overlooking the beach as searches expanded beyond the sand itself. For the locals, the murder came is a huge shock Bournemouth isn't immune to violent crime, as no place is Dorset generally as a county has one of the lowest rates of knife crime in the country Still Some residents spoke to newspapers in the days that followed the attack and admitted They were frightened One woman from nearby Christchurch said she was already nervous about traveling into Bnemouth and felt knife crime simply wasn't being punished severely enough I actually managed to find a freedom of information request covering stabbins across Bournemouth Pool and Christchurch between january twenty twenty and january twenty twenty five the results of which I'll share with you now Over those five years there were one hundred and thirty two stabbins recorded across the three areas ninety one occurred in Balmemouth. thirty four in Pool and seven in Christ Church. Looking specifically at Bouremouth, there were fourteen stabbins recorded in twenty twenty four alone which equates to roughly one every twenty six days. Let's call it one a month, just over. Now compared to many parts of the UK, Dorset remains a relatively safe county, like I said. But statistics like that still make for uncomfortable reading as detectives worked around the clock to identify whoever was responsible Amy's family facace the unbearable reality that she wasn't coming home Two days later, on Sunday may twenty sixth, Shan and the couple's daughter paid tribute to her in a simple but incredibly moving way. As the sun began to set that night, they stood by the sea and scattered rose petals onto the water Look it up at the sky They told Amy that they loved her and afterwards said that sunsets would always remind them of her Back in the wider community, tributes continue to pour in for the much loved thirty four year old Dorset Fotsall Club, where Amy had become such a valued member released a brief statement which read We cannot put this into words at this time And as a mark of respect to all those affected, we will not be posting anything new for the foreseeable future Local politicians were speaking publicly about the case too The MP for Balemouth West, Sirononna Burns, described the attack as another tragic and brutal event while also pointing out that crimes like this remained so shocking precisely because they were still relatively rare People want add answers and reassurance though And most importantly, people wanted the person responsible for the horrific attack caught and sent to prison. Later that same Sunday, detectives took a significant step forward in the investigation when they released a series of CCTV images of a man they urgently wanted to identify The footage wasn't particularly clear, as is frustratingly still the case with most public CCTV, even nowadays. The images were granny and dark appeared to show a man dressed entirely in black with his hood pulled up Despite the hal hearted attempt at a disguise, much of his face remained visible Detective superintendent Richard Dixay appealed directly to the public, asking anyone who recognized the man or who had seen anything unusual around the beach that night to come forward Clearly, some witness testimony came through sharpish as the investigation quickly gathered pace On Monday, may twenty seventh, police announced that a seventeen year old boy from Lancashire who'd been arrested over the weekend, had been released without charge and completely eliminated from their inquiries, which took them back to square one Meanwhile, Derly Chine Beach remained closed to the public. But the next break in the case It wasn't far away Dives entered their fourth dayave investigations, a major breakthrough came on the evening of Tuesday, may twenty eighth. at seven thirty four PM Armed police officers attended a property in Croyden, South London Following what Dorset pololice described as extensive inquiries, they arrested a twenty year old man from the area on suspicion of both murder and attempted murder in relation to the attack on Durley Chine Beach the previous Friday. preparation involved intelligence officers, firearms officers, and support from the metetropolitan police And for the first time since the attack, investigators appeared to have the man they believe was responsible in custod today The following day an inquest into Amy's death was formally opened. The cause of death was officially recorded as being due to multiple stab wounds. Meanwhile, Leanne remained in hospital recovering from what police described as very serious injuries. Thankfully, after almost a week of treatment, she was finally discharged on may thirtieth She had survived an attack that had claimed her friend's life But many questions remained Who was the man that the police had arrested Why had he targeted two women sitting peacefully on a beach? And what motive could there possibly have been for such a seemingly random act of violence on a pair of strangers The answers to those questions would prove every bit as disturbing as the crime itself On Friday may thirty first, the day after the inquest opened The arrested man was formally charged with murder and attempted murder And with that, his name was revealed to the public Nerson Sarde. Born on december twenty second, two thousand three, the twenty roll was due to appear before magistrates in Pool the following day. ives continued piecing together exactly what had happened. Forensic examinations took place at two locations in Balmemouth, as well as two addresses linked to Sardy and Croydon. At that stage, very little was publicly known about him But that would soon change just under a week after his arrest on june third Mropolitan Police received a complaint from a third party regarding the way officers had handled an allegation of stalking involving Sadee earlier that year cllant related to an incident reported in february twenty twenty four. As required, the Metropolitan pololice referred the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, and a few days later, the matter was referred back to the Met for a local investigation which eventually concluded there was no case to answer The complainant was then informed of the outcome and advised of their right to seek a review Pppawn as that was, it would later become clear that the events leading up to the attack in Bournemouth stretch back much further than a few months This wasn't a spontaneous argument or a confrontation that spiraled out of control It also wasn't a case where Amy or Leanne even knew their attacker In fact, they'd never met him before It wasn't just unknown to them either He was also a stranger to Bnmouth Court proceedings would later reveal that he had traveveled to Bournemouth of all places with one purpose in mind to murder someone. Investigators uncovered evidence showing he'd spent days pacing up and down Bournemouth Seafront before the attack On the fateful night of may twenty fourth, he prowled the promenade looking for a victim Any victim Then he found Amy and Leanne sitting peacefully beside a fire with their backs to him, looking out to sea There was no conversation or interaction whatsoever between the attacker and the two women before the attack began According to evidence later presented at court, Sard left the promenade, approached the women, and launched his attack without saying a word We're going take a quick break here. When we return, we'll be discussing precisely what happened to Amy and Leanne that night at the hands of their attacker See you soon This Monday. com ad was created by a team of people and AI agents. The agents wrote the copy and managed the timelines, while our human creative director made sure it all made sense. 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Let's now carry on with the story Leanne was attacked first, and hearing the commotion, Amy shoutered at him to get off her friend In that moment, she drew his attention towards herselflf As Amy tried to run, Sardy gave chase, catching up with her on the beach and repeatedly stabbing her By the time the attack was over, she'd suffered ten stab wounds to her chest, shoulder, and arm Leanne could hear her friend desperately shouting at the attacker Those were among the last sounds she would ever hear from Ame. The violence didn't stop there though. Because after fatally wounding Amy, Sardi turned his attention back to Leanne. She ran towards the promenade in a desperate attempt to find help. But Sardi chased her down, catching up with her very quickly He then stabbed her repeatedly as he had Eme And by the end of it, Leanne had suffered around twenty stab wounds The fact she survived is nothing short of remarkable It was seemingly down to her turning her back to him, effectively protecting herself from any potentially life ending blows. ives dug deeper into Sadi's background, a chilling picture began to emerge He was a student at the University of Greenwich and he'd been studying criminology, if you can believe it And during twenty twenty three, lecturers and guest speakers noticed he would ask unusual questions during sessions They weren't the sort of typical general questions most students asked Far from it Iidi wanted to know specifically about forensic evidence. how DNA was collected How evidence was shared between police forces What steps investigators took when solving murders how offenders were identified how they were caught police forces in different parts of the country communicated effectively with one another And how far somebody would need to travel to avoid being linked to a crime Qestions often had little or nothing to do with the topic being discussed at the time And Mrs. Justice Cutz later concluded that these weren't merely the idle curiosities of a student The judge was satisfied that Sardi had spent a long time planning and preparing to kill. evenven if the identities of his eventual victims had not been chosen until the very last moment. His internet search history painted an equally disturbing picture Investigators discovered searches relating to knives, weapons and previous stabbing attacks. Several knives purchased by Sadi were later found at his home. Senior crrown prosecutor Benjamin May would later say that while some people spend their time researching footballers, celebrities, movie stars Sadi appeared fascinated by notorious killers such as Harold Shipman and the like The more detectives uncovered, the clearer the picture became This was far from random. It was methodically planned and calculated By march twenty twenty four, Sardi had begun searching online for the answers to questions such as Why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town? That search alone speaks volumes And not long after, his planning became increasingly specific By april twenty twenty four, he was searching for beaches in the south of England. He wanted to know when beaches were busiest When they were quietest, whether people visited beaches at night until eventually his attention settled on Bournemouth That same month it was specifically researching Bournemouth Beach He searched for visitor numbers and information about the area He even researched whether it was easier to run on pebbles as opposed to sand because some beaches here are made of the former rather than the latter Investigators believed he was considering how a victim might escape from him and how he might then escape afterwards. Acommodation presented another challenge for Sadee because traveling to another town, especially an unfamiliar one meant staying somewhere. He couldn't just head home after. So, he looked into whether Airbnb bookings could be paid for with cash in an attempt to keep the transaction anonymous He searched for information about tracking credit card purchases because he wanted to leave as little trace as possible. Bournemouth had been selected, he began searching for hotels close to the beach It took it one step further by searching for accommodation without CCTV coverage On may sixteenth, he booked accommodation at the Silver How Gestthouse near Bornemouth Beach for may twenty third and twenty fourth The following day, he booked additional nights at a traravel lodge for may twenty first and twenty second On may nineteenth, he searched for Barnemouth CCTV and Bonnemouth PierCCTV while also checking out maps of the West Cliff area Then, on may twenty first, he tralled by train from Croydon to Bournemouth By this point, it also purchased black clothing, including a hooded top which the aforementioned CCTV footage showed him wearing while wandering around Bournemouth, even during warmer weather Over the next three days, cameras repeatedly captured him walking along the seafront paced back and forth, particularly at night The judge later concluded that he was identifying CCTV locations and selecting the best place to carry out his planned attack plan fully in action and the location set, nextxt came the evening of may twenty fourth. At aroundround ten forty PM, Sadi left the guest house. And what followed is some of the most haunting CCTV footage I've ever seen The Promenade itself was dark, despite being illuminated by street lights That was almost pitch black. And there, moving through the night with his hood up was Sada He can be seen aimlessly walking. stalking is a more apt term It's as if he's not heading anywhere in particular. He's just biding his time waiting for someone to attack carrying out the attack, he fled the scene. The following morning, he left Bnemouth and returned home to Croydon. Somewhere along the way, he disposed of the knife used in the attack along with the clothes he'd been wearing Neither has ever been found It's difficult not to conclude that he believed he committed the perfect crime at that time. It was a murder carried out over a hundred miles away from home against complete strangers. There was no obvious motive, no connection to the victims, no murder weapon and no witnesses who knew him But he was wrong in assuming he'd get away scot free Interestingly, despite all the evidence gathered against him Sadei did not initially admit responsibility. He only acknowledged his guilt later while speaking to Dr. Ruthenberg, the psychiatrist instructed to prepare a report for sentencing. Even then, he attempted to minimize what had happened He claimed he'd traveled to Bom at Simplay for a holiday and walked along the promenadeer at night because he disliked crowds He also described the murder and attempted murder as an impulsive act. the evidence told a very different story. During those discussions, Sadi also spoke about difficulties socializing and communicating with others, insisting he displayed some autistic traits. However, Medical professionals later confirmed he did not meet the criteria for autism spepectrum disorder as investigators and prosecutors tried to understand what had motivated him Tension inevitably turned towards certain online communities and ideologies By all accounts, Sardi appeared to fit the profile of what has become known these days as an inceell, which is short for involuntarily ceelibrate In some corners of the internet, those communities have become breeding grounds for resentment, anger, and hostility towards women And as this case would reveal That ideology appeared to form part of a much darker picture surrounding Sadee Now when we talk about the term incell is worth grounding this a bit becausecause it's become one of those words that gets thrown around online without much thought In simple terms, it refers to men who believe they are unable to form romantic or sexual relationships, even though they want to And over the last few years, that label has started to crop up more and more in public conversation Especially when cases like this hit the headlines The drama series Adolescent, she may have seen it, was the first time I'd ever heard that term And even if you had heard it before, it certainly brought it into the mainstream I want to be clear about one thing here And it's that not everyone who identifies as an inl is violent. and not everyone in those online spaces is dangerous In fact, most research shows that the picture is far more complicated than the stereotype would have you believe But what government research in the UK has started to highlight is that some of these online communities can become echo chambers. especially for individuals already dealing with poor mental health, isolation or anger A Home Office link study looking specifically at in cell communities in the UK and US found that a lot of members reported extremely poor mental health Things like depression, loneliness, and in some cases, suicidal thoughts were common themes. They also found something else that stands out A small minority of individuals expressed a level of hostility or even justification for violence against people they felt had wronged them But that group was very small compared to the wider sample Where things become more relevant to cases like Sardi is when you look at how ideology, mental health and online networking start to overlap The research suggested it wasn't just one thing on its own And that matters because it helps explain how someone can move from frustration or resentment into something far more dangerous And these communities are not always hidden away in obscure corners of the internet either. A lot of interaction happens through mainstream platforms, anonymous forums, discord servers and social media That creates a constant feedback loop peopleople reinforce each other's thinking These are ideas that might seem extreme in normal life they suddenly start to feel normal within that space Some researchers have even described it as a kind of worldview bubble. where members begin to see their personal struggles as part of a wider system that is against them. And again, just to be absolutely clear here None of this explains away or excuses violence or what happened to Amy and Leanne Plenty of people struggle socially or emotionally and never harm anyone. But what it does is help investigators and psychologists understand risk patterns Because in a small number of cases, such as this one patterns do appear in the background When you look back at Sadee Core evidence starts to line up with some of those themes Isolated planning Heavy online research into violence, policing and detection A fixation on avoiding CCTV and being caught. and a deliberate choice of location far away from where he lived As the investigation and trial progressed, a clearer picture of Sadi began to form in the courtroom Psychiatric evidence suggested he'd become increasingly consumed by feelings of humiliation and rejection particularly around interactions with women Over time, that appears to have fested into something much darker. Dctor Rutenberg told the court that Sada had developed what he described as an obsessional interest in violence, horror and the minds of people who kill. Alongside that, there was what was described as a deep rooted sense of grievance against society Everything we've just talked about Sadei hadad in his head And In his view, Sadei didn't just study killers, he identified with them He saw the idea of being feared, of being recognized as dangerous as something almost appealing. A way of reclaiming a sense of control or power He felt he had lost. But the judge was equally as clear in her sentencing remarks She told Sardi that he should have pleaded guilty to the offenses, sparing the families of Amy and Leanne the ordeal of a trial Instead, she said, His decision not to do so showed a complete lack of remorse And in her view, it also suggested Somet else that he may have been seeking Norrioter The trial itself began in early december, twenty twenty four at Winchester Crown Court As we've touched upon, Sardi pleaded not guilty to both murder and attempted murder And concerningly, there was no direct forensic evidence linking him to the scene There was no DNA or recovered murder weapon prorosecution's case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence, such as the CCTV footage, Sudi's search history, his movements around Balmouth Gate analysis, which together built a clear picture for the jury After deliberation, the jury returned unanimous guilty verdicts on both counts. At sentencing on march twenty eighth, twenty twenty five, Sadee was jailed for life He was told he must serve a minimum of thirty nine years and sixty five days for the murder of Ame. which took into account time already spent on remand, which was three hundred days attempted murder of Lean, he received a concurrent sentence of thirty years. He was also given a further concurrent sentence for failing to comply with a notice requiring disclosure which amounted to twenty one months While in custody, Sardi later wrote a handwritten letter to documentary producers working on a program about the case In its, he claimed he had provided police with information about where he disposed the murder weapon He wrote