Ilford ‘murder’: Aspiring lawyer killed walking home was ‘gentle soul who wouldn’t hurt a fly’

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An aspiring lawyer killed in a suspected stranger attack in Ilford was a “gentle soul” who “wouldn’t hurt a fly”, a friend has said.

Zara Aleena, 35, was walking home in East London when was subjected to an “horrific” assault that did not involve a weapon, police said.

She was discovered with severe head injuries by members of the public who called paramedics to the scene at around 2.45am on Sunday.

Friend Nadia, 42, said Ms Aleena had probably decided to walk home rather than get a taxi because “nothing like that has ever happened before”.

“She was a gentle soul, she wouldn’t hurt a fly,” she told the Daily Mail.

Her cousin told the newspaper Ms Aleena had been working at the Royal Courts of Justice as an administration officer and had dreams of becoming a solicitor. She had recently passed her law degree.

“She was a lovely person,” he said. “It’s such a shock for the family. She wanted to become a lawyer, to make a success of herself so she could support the family.

“She was always bubbly, brought life to the room, a warm, high-empathy person. She looked after her mum and her gran and was a very family-oriented person.”

A 29-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder in connection with the attack. He was detained at an address in Ilford shortly after 4pm on Monday.

Chief Supt Stuart Bell, of the Met Police, said that “It is now believed that she was the victim of an opportunist stranger attack. Her family are aware of this and they will continue to be updated.

He had previously said that “Zara suffered multiple serious injuries that contributed to her death.”

“There is no evidence at this time that weapons were used during the attack,” he added.

Detectives were focused on identifying all available CCTV and anyone who may have been in the area, he said.