'Savage' killer has jail term CUT after murdering woman as she walked home alone
03.11.2023 - 13:17
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The man who murdered law graduate Zara Aleena as she walked home alone from a night out has had his sentence cut by five years following an appeal.
Jordan McSweeney brutally attacked the 35-year-old in the early hours of June 26 last year in Ilford, east London. The killer, who refused to attend court to hear his punishment, admitted murder and sexual assault and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 38 years in December.
The Old Bailey heard that McSweeney had been caught on CCTV drunkenly lurching in the street after being ejected from a pub for pestering a female member of staff. He targeted at least five women before he turned his attention to Ms Aleena, who was just "minutes from her front door", stalking her along Cranbrook Road before grabbing her from behind and dragging her into a driveway.
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Read more court stories from the Manchester Evening News here.
The attack, caught on grainy CCTV, lasted nine minutes and resulted in 46 separate injuries. The prosecution told the court he had attacked his victim "with a savagery that is almost impossible to believe". The court heard Ms Aleena, who was training to be a solicitor at the time of her death, was repeatedly kicked and stamped on and had her clothing torn from her body.
Ms Aleena was found severely injured and struggling to breathe. Emergency services were called at 2.44am but she died in hospital from compression to the neck and blunt force to the head.
Last month, McSweeney appeared at a Court of Appeal hearing via videolink from Long Lartin prison in Worcestershire after launching a bid to reduce the minimum term of his sentence. On Friday,