Man charged with UK teacher murder remanded in custody

By Ahmet Gurhan Kartal

LONDON (AA) - An Albanian man was remanded in custody following the first court appearance on Tuesday over the charge of murdering a young school teacher 11 days ago.

Koci Selamaj, 36, was arrested in Eastbourne and charged with the murder of 28-year-old Sabina Nessa on Sept. 17.

Sabina Ness was attacked as she was taking a five-minute walk from home to meet her friends.

Her body was found near the One Space Community Center at Kidbrooke Park Road in Greenwich nearly 24 hours after the murder, according to the Metropolitan Police.

Nessa was a teacher at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, southeast London.

Locals held vigils near where she was murdered.

Nessa’s sister Jebina Yasmin Islam said her sorrow could not be described in a vigil.

"Words cannot describe how we are feeling, this feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can’t get out of it – our world is shattered, we are simply lost for words," she said.

“No family should go through what we are going through.”

In July, the British government released a strategy to fight violence against women and girls, pledging better support services for minority communities and a public health campaign to focus on perpetrator behavior.

Selamaj is due to appear at the Old Bailey on Thursday and he will be asked to enter a plea on Oct. 26.