Sabina Nessa: Book of condolence opened in memory of teacher murdered in south London

OneSpace community centre offers space for people to write tributes to 28-year-old killed nearby

(AP)

A book of condolences has opened for Sabina Nessa in southeast London near where the murdered teacher was found last weekend.

OneSpace community centre in Kidbrooke has set up a book for people to write tributes to the 28-year-old as it reopened.

Ms Nessa’s body was discovered near the community centre in Cator Park, Kidbrooke, in the afternoon of 18 September.

The 28-year-old, who taught at a primary school in southeast London, was fatally attacked the night before after leaving home to meet a friend at a bar.

Police said her walk to The Depot in Kidbrooke Village should have taken just over five minutes.

Her body was discovered by a member of the public walking a dog the next day, having been hidden under a pile of leaves, it was reported.

The community centre reopened on Saturday, after being cordoned off by police and remaining closed until the weekend “as a mark of respect”.

“OneSpace staff and trustees would like to express their deepest condolences for the family and friends of Sabina Nessa after her tragic death on Friday evening near to the OneSpace building,” the centre said in a statement.

There would be a prayer room for all who wish to use it, it said.

“We will also have a book of condolence for anyone who wishes to write something,” OneSpace added.

A vigil was held for Ms Nessa on Friday, which was attended by hundreds of mourners.

“We have lost an amazing, caring, beautiful sister, who left this world far too early,” her sister told the crowd at Pegler Square – where Ms Nessa was on her way to when attacked last week.

Detective Chief Inspector Trevor Lawry told the vigil: “Please help us catch the person responsible for this shocking incident.”

Two men were separately arrested on suspicion of her murder but were subsequently released under investigation.

The Metropolitan Police remain keen to trace a third man spotted near where Ms Nessa was killed on the night she died.

They released a 12-second clip showing a balding man wearing a black hooded coat and grey jeans, holding an orange object, looking over his shoulder and pulling at his hood.

Detectives also circulated an image, captured in the same area, of a silver car they believe the man had access to and appealed for anyone who recognised either to contact the force immediately.

Additional reporting by Press Association