On 26 June 2022, Zara Aleena was sexually assaulted and murdered as she was walking home in Ilford by Jordan McSweeney. The murder attracted attention after it was discovered McSweeney had committed numerous other offences and should have been recalled to prison.

Murder

Aleena had begun working at the

Royal Courts of Justice The Royal Courts of Justice, commonly called the Law Courts, is a court building in Westminster which houses the High Court and Court of Appeal of England and Wales. The High Court also sits on circuit and in other major cities. Designed by Ge ...

five weeks before her death. Around 2am on 26 June, Aleena left a bar on Ilford High Street close to

Ilford railway station Ilford railway station is on the Great Eastern Main Line serving the town of Ilford in the London Borough of Redbridge, east London. It is down the line from London Liverpool Street and is situated between and . Its three-letter station co ...

and began walking up Cranbrook Road towards

Valentines Park Valentines Park is a park, south of Gants Hill, it is the largest green space in the London Borough of Redbridge. The park was originally the grounds of Valentines Mansion, a residence built in 1696. Valentines Park holds a Green Flag Award and ...

. At the same time, McSweeney had been thrown out of a bar for harassing staff and had subsequently approached several other women. At 2:17am, Aleena was violently attacked by McSweeney on Cranbrook Road. She was discovered collapsed on a driveway, struggling to breathe, and was taken to the

Royal London Hospital The Royal London Hospital is a large teaching hospital in Whitechapel in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is part of Barts Health NHS Trust. It provides district general hospital services for the City of London and Tower Hamlets and spe ...

where she died of her injuries.

Aftermath

The murder occurred nine days after McSweeney was released from prison on licence, having being jailed for robbery. A subsequent report in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said an attempt was made to recall him to prison two days before the murder, and suggested he should not have been released in the first place. The

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

conducted an internal review after reports were published that McSweeney had been convicted 28 times for 69 earlier offences, including nine separate spells in prison, and ought to have been recalled. McSweeney had also had a history of violence and abuse, and a

restraining order A restraining order or protective order, is an order used by a court to protect a person in a situation involving alleged domestic violence, child abuse, assault, harassment, stalking, or sexual assault. Restraining and personal protection or ...

was taken out against him in 2021. Concern had been raised on 22 June, four days before the murder, after McSweeney failed to show for two appointments. Two days later, the Metropolitan Police attempted to arrest him, but he was not at the address on their records. The Chief Inspector of Probation said the failure to assess McSweeney was caused by a lack of probation officers. London was highlighted as particularly problematic, with around half of posts remaining to be filled in some London boroughs. In December, McSweeney pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...

with a minimum 38-year term. In January 2023, the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Rishi Sunak Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...

said the murder was a "terrible crime", and announced the government would take urgent action to review how McSweeney was incorrectly assessed for medium risk.

References

External links

Probation officers failed and Zara Aleena was murdered. You need to know why
Samira Shackle, ''

''
Independent Serious Further Offence review of Jordan McSweeney
- HM Inspectorate of Probation, January 2023
The Big Case - Killed Walking Home
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Aleena, Zara 2022 murders in the United Kingdom 2020s murders in London June 2022 events in the United Kingdom Deaths by person in London Female murder victims