Jury retires in Zara Aleena inquest

A jury has retired to begin its deliberations in the inquest into the death of Zara Aleena.

Jordan McSweeney killed the 35-year-old law graduate as she walked home from a night out in Ilford, east London, early on June 26 2022.

McSweeney was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting Ms Aleena’s murder and sexual assault.

In November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence.

On Monday, area coroner Nadia Persaud addressed the jury at East London Coroner’s Court ahead of sending them out to begin their deliberations.

She told the jury they must decide: “Who the deceased was, and where, when and how she came by her death.”

The coroner then listed a series of questions for the jurors to consider, along with whatever else they consider relevant, during their deliberations.

She asked the jurors to consider whether any failings by the prison and probation service in the management and assessment of the risk posed by McSweeney contributed to Ms Aleena’s death.

The jury was previously told that McSweeney was released from prison nine days before he killed Ms Aleena.

McSweeney’s probation worker, recently qualified Austin Uwaifo, said McSweeney should have been graded high risk and, had he been, he would have pushed for him to have been recalled to prison earlier.

Jurors heard that on the day of his release, McSweeney missed his initial probation appointment and his mother told staff he had passed out drunk at her house.

Mr Uwaifo, said: “At the time, the thinking was that because he came out on the Friday, my thinking was to give him the opportunity to return – possibly he came out and decided to, for whatever reason, decided to go out and get drunk.”

The appointment was rearranged for June 20 but McSweeney again failed to attend, and when staff contacted his mother she told them she did not know where he was.

McSweeney missed another appointment on June 22.

During a work break that day, Mr Uwaifo flagged McSweeney’s absence to the head of service at the probation offices, who recommended he be recalled.

The recall process was started but it was not signed off until the late afternoon on June 24.

In the early hours of June 26, McSweeney attacked Ms Aleena.

Mr Uwaifo said the probation office was not staffed over the weekend but that he would have requested a faster out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk.

Ms Persaud also asked the jury to consider whether any failings by the prison and probation service in communicating information concerning the risk to the public posed by McSweeney contributed to Ms Aleena’s death.

Previously jurors heard that McSweeney’s prison offender manager did not share reports of alleged offences including attacking others with improvised weapons and being high on spice while in custody the year before he killed Ms Aleena.

Emmerson Cole, McSweeney’s prison offender manager at HMP Pentonville, told the jury he did not have a conversation with McSweeney because of “Covid protocols” and sent him two letters introducing himself and filled out a basic custody screening tool in February 2021.

In his statement, Mr Cole said “in normal times I would have attempted to see (McSweeney) in person as well as sending a letter, face-to-face meetings were restricted due to Covid protocols in place at the time”.

The alleged offences included a record of McSweeney assaulting a prisoner with an improvised weapon, a kettle base, and on another date reportedly assaulting a server worker with an improvised weapon made from a tuna tin.

Jurors were also asked to consider whether any failings in the decision-making concerning the recall of Jordan McSweeney to prison by the Probation Service, on or after the June 17 2022, contributed to her death.

McSweeney had been released from prison on licence on June 17 2022 and, after breaching the conditions of his licence, his recall to prison was initiated on June 22 2022, the recall report was signed on June 24 2022 and police were given powers to arrest him at 4.10pm the same day.

During her evidence, Kim Thornden-Edwards, chief probation officer for England and Wales, said the Probation Service admitted that there were delays in sending the paperwork to initiate the recall of McSweeney.

The coroner also asked the jury to consider whether any failings on the part of the Metropolitan Police, following service of his recall report, contributed to her death.

Previously, Metropolitan Police operations sergeant Ian Batten told East London Coroner’s Court that initial inquiries into his whereabouts were closed prematurely and more checks should have been carried out.

He said he did not foresee that McSweeney was a risk to the public after receiving a recall to prison notice for him on June 24 2022.

The court heard McSweeney was logged as “medium risk” and that his was not categorised as an “emergency recall” but was, instead, a “standard” one.

Sgt Batten also said he did not know initial inquiries into McSweeney’s whereabouts were closed before the end of his shift.

The jury was sent home to resume its deliberations at 10am on Wednesday.