A sexual predator with a series of convictions pleaded guilty on Friday to killing a woman as she walked home in London, one of a series of attacks that raised fears about the safety of women on the city’s streets.
Jordan McSweeney, 29, has admitted to sexually assaulting and murdering Zara Aleena, 35, who was attacked after a night out in June and left for dead in a driveway.
Prosecutors said McSweeney has a long criminal record, with 28 convictions for 69 offenses, including criminal mischief, robbery and assault. He was released from prison just days before he attacked Aleena, a law graduate training to become a lawyer.
A judge at London’s Central Criminal Court set the sentencing date for December 14.
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The murder followed several other cases in which women were killed by strangers, including Sarah Everard, killed by an on-duty police officer in 2020, and Sabina Nessa, attacked while walking in a park the following year. The deaths sparked protests calling for more protection for women and girls.
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a 35-year-old woman as she walked home from London. Jordan McSweeney had just been released from prison four days before the murder. Pictured: A general view of the River Thames from Canary Wharf on a cloudy day from Greenwich, on October 23, 2022, in London, England.
(John Keeble/Getty Images)
Chief Crown Prosecutor Olcay Sapanoglu welcomed the guilty pleas for the “horrific attack on a woman who was walking home after a night out with a friend.”
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“Zara’s family will never recover from the senseless loss of their daughter, but I hope these guilty pleas bring them some comfort,” Sapanoglu said.
