June 26th 2024.
The tragic death of Zara Aleena, who was brutally murdered while walking home from a night out in east London, has been determined by an inquest jury to be a result of failures across multiple agencies. This shocking event occurred on June 26, 2022, just nine days after her killer, Jordan McSweeney, was released from prison.
The 35-year-old law graduate died in hospital from a blunt force head injury and neck compression, as stated by the jury. In light of this heartbreaking outcome, area coroner Nadia Persaud paid tribute to Ms. Aleena and extended her deepest condolences to her family and friends. A video montage showcasing pictures and videos from throughout Ms. Aleena's life was shown at the East London Coroner's Court on Wednesday.
In December 2022, McSweeney was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 38 years after admitting to the murder and sexual assault of Ms. Aleena. However, in November 2023, he was able to successfully reduce his minimum term through a Court of Appeal bid.
During the inquest, Ms. Persaud urged the jurors to consider whether any failures from the prison and probation services or Metropolitan Police had contributed to Ms. Aleena's death. It was revealed that the police were unable to make contact with McSweeney after his release on June 17, 2022, but probation services waited five days before initiating his recall to prison.
Furthermore, McSweeney had missed his probation appointment on the day of his release and his mother had informed staff that he had passed out drunk at her house. Despite this, his recall was not initiated until June 22, and the recall report was signed on June 24, 2022. Police were only given the powers to arrest McSweeney at 4:10 pm on the same day.
Tragically, in the early hours of June 26, McSweeney murdered Ms. Aleena. His probation worker, Austin Uwaifo, who had recently qualified, stated that McSweeney should have been graded high risk and recalled to prison earlier. He explained that he had given McSweeney the opportunity to return because he had come out on a Friday and may have decided to go out and get drunk.
Mr. Uwaifo also mentioned that the probation office was not staffed over the weekend, but he would have requested an out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk. Similarly, Metropolitan Police operations sergeant Ian Batten stated that he did not anticipate McSweeney being a risk to the public after receiving the recall notice on June 24, 2022. He also acknowledged that initial inquiries into McSweeney's whereabouts were closed prematurely and more checks should have been carried out. Sgt. Batten expressed his regret for not foreseeing the potential danger posed by McSweeney.
In conclusion, it is evident that a series of failures from multiple agencies led to the tragic and untimely death of Zara Aleena. This devastating event serves as a reminder for agencies to work together and take appropriate actions to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the future. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ms. Aleena's family and friends during this difficult time.
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