A MAN has been found guilty of stabbing a woman to death on a Bournemouth beach, and attempting to murder her friend.

34-year-old Amie Gray was killed in a “savage and random attack” on Durley Chine Beach on May 24, while Leanne Miles, 39, was chased and continuously stabbed.

Nasen Saadi, 20 and of Croydon, has been found guilty by jury of murder and attempted murder after a trial at Winchester Crown Court.

The jury reached their verdicts after five hours and 36 minutes. 

Prosecutor, Sarah Jones KC, described the attack as ‘random, horrifying and savage’ as Saadi decided to “lash out, to hurt, to butcher”.

Amie Gray (right) with wife Sian Gray (left) (Image: Dorset Police)

The court previously heard that Saadi was a criminology student at the University of Greenwich and often asked questions that were ‘more than academic’.

Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss, a former lecturer at the University of Greenwich, was delivering a lecture on the political system in the UK at the end of 2023 when Saadi asked her to ‘go back to the point on self-defence for murder’.  

Dr Reiss said she had not discussed the topic but Saadi continued to ask questions on DNA, how it is left behind, how long for and how can police track it.

She said: “You’re not planning a murder, are you?”

In a later guest lecture, Pavandeep Singh Aneja, a special police officer for Metropolitan Police, said the defendant asked ‘very different’ questions from other students, focused on ‘how to get away with murder’.

From January 2024, Saadi began searching websites where knives could be purchased along with ‘stabbing’ and information on high profile murders including Brianna Ghey.

In March he searched: “Why is it harder for a killer to be caught if he does it in another town?”

The following month he began to research ‘beaches in the South of England’ before focusing on Bournemouth beach.

On May 21, Saadi was captured on CCTV travelling from his aunt’s home in Croydon via train to Bournemouth, where he checked in at a Travelodge.

In the days before the incident, Saadi was seen to walk to and from Durley Chine Beach, particularly late at night.

On May 22, the defendant visited Bournemouth Odeon to watch a ‘slasher home invasion’ movie, before returning to walk along the seafront.

The next day he checked out of his Travelodge and moved to Silver How guesthouse on West Cliff Road.

On the day of the murder, on May 24, Saadi visited a nearby Superdrug to buy wipes and nail clippers.

At around 4pm he walked to Durley Chine and bought an ice cream before returning to his accommodation, where he stayed until around 11pm.

CCTV showed a hooded figure leave the Silver How, walk to the seafront and pace the promenade.

Amie Gray and Leanne Miles had arranged to meet at Durley Chine Beach for a picnic and a fire on the evening of May 24.

Also on the beach were university students, Ellie Ackerman and Caitlyn MacIver, who were enjoying the seafront before they witnessed a “strange man”.

Ms MacIver told the court in a statement that her mother taught her if someone was being weird, to be weird to them back so they do not approach.

So, she barked at the man and he went away.

In a video interview filmed days after the incident in Poole General Hospital, Ms Miles said she noticed a shadow approach her and Ms Gray before feeling a ‘punch’.

Ms Gray shouted at the man to get off her friend, which prompted him to turn towards her.

He chased Ms Gray down the beach while Ms Miles contemplated whether to seek help from the promenade or run after her friend.

"The guy must have realised I wasn't there anymore and he chased me back up,” said Ms Miles.

"He came back and continuously stabbing me and I said stop."

The attacker eventually fled the scene, while Ms Miles rang 999 and was heard to say: “I'm worried I'm going to die.

“I’m bleeding everywhere, I’ve been stabbed multiple times.”

CCTV footage played to the court captured audio of the attack, which heard the women screaming followed by a male’s voice.

Amateur photographer, Michael Priddle, was taking pictures of the moon when he heard a scream.

Soon after he saw a ‘nasty looking person’ walk away from the beach, which made him concerned for his own safety.

Pathologist, Dr Basil Purdue, told the court that Ms Gray died from “multiple stab wounds”.

He said the most serious wound would have required severe force to penetrate the breastbone and wound the pericardial sac – the bag surrounding the heart – which meant that the heart could not beat properly.

Ms Gray sustained 10 knife wounds and sadly died at the scene.

Following the attack, Ms Miles was taken to hospital where she was found with 20 knife injuries, mostly on her back, and suffered a collapsed lung and punctured liver.

When told that her friend had died, Ms Miles said “Amie Gray had saved her life”.

The day after the attack, Saadi was seen to return to London via train before he was arrested on May 28.

Officers searching his home found a number of knives, including zombie knives and a machete.

When searching his parent’s address, Saadi’s father told officer he had two knives and a pickaxe that he had previously taken and hidden from the defendant.

Saadi has pleaded guilty to failing to provide his mobile phone code to police and told prison officers in custody that he had chosen an alphanumerical phone password because it was ‘the most difficult to crack’.

When interviewed by police on May 31, Saadi said: “I am not responsible and I have no reason to attack someone for no reason.”

Nasen Saadi, 20 and of Croydon, was found guilty of murder and attempted to murder.

He will be sentenced on March 28, 2025.