SETTLING down to watch a horror movie for most people is purely entertainment – but for the CSI Killer Nasen Saadi, it was research.
The criminology student, just 20, took copious notes on killings, and asked lecturers ghoulish questions as he pursued his lust for violence – but even after he carried out the sadistic killing of a stranger on Bournemouth beach last year and was jailed for life, he still wasn’t done.
A prison insider from HMP Belmarsh, where Saadi is currently being held, has revealed how the monster lay in wait before dousing a fellow lag with boiling water from a kettle – with the victim’s screams only being drowned out by the alarm bells.
The now 21-year-old had ambushed two lags after they raided his cell and tried to steal his possessions, including his packs of noodles, Lucozade, sweets and a TV, a source told The Sun.
The act of revenge has earned him the nickname The Hitman, and his chilling gloats after the horror jail attack prove that Saadi cannot get killing out of his system.
He allegedly claimed it was done in preparation for yet more killings behind bars, later saying: “It made me feel nine out of 10 in happiness.”
The sadistic inmate – jailed for murdering Amie Gray and attempting to murder Leanne Miles in a frenzied knife attack on Durley Chine beach on May 24 2024 – is still obsessed with death, insiders say.
Lags described the killer as a “weirdo” and as someone who is “desperate for attention”, doing anything to stay in the limelight – including plotting and carrying out acts of violence.
He was very cool and serious when he did it. It seemed like he just didn’t care at all. All the prisoners who saw it were so shocked
Prison insider
His fatal attack on Amie and her pal Leanne had seen meticulous planning, with his internet search history showing he’d researched famous murders, including Brianna Ghey and Milly Dowler.
Saadi even asked his lecturer at the University of Greenwich off-topic questions about the intricacies of killing, DNA and how to get away with murder.
The young man had such an interest that his teacher once asked him: “You’re not planning a murder, are you?”
The twisted criminology student did exactly that and travelled to the beach to find a victim at random, before knifing 34-year-old Amie to death as she screamed for help.
He also stabbed her pal Leanne 20 times, leaving her seriously injured.
Saadi was jailed for life in March with a minimum of 39 years after he was found guilty of murder and attempted murder.
He was ‘shockingly calm’
Plotting his ambush, Saadi was careful to hide a kettle under a towel before dousing his victim in a corridor in the vulnerable prisoner unit at the jail in South East London, a source told The Sun.
It is believed the inmate suffered burns to his face while another prisoner was also targeted, but was not hurt.
An eyewitness who saw the boiling water incident at Belmarsh – which happened in August last year – said Saadi attacked the two men after being bullied by them.
Earlier in the day, the pair and another prisoner had gone into Saadi’s cell and tried to steal his possessions, it is claimed.
The witness said Saadi remained “shockingly calm” during the attack and later bragged to other inmates that he had done it in preparation for killing people.
The source said: “He was very cool and serious when he did it. It seemed like he just didn’t care at all. All the prisoners who saw it were so shocked.
“Afterwards, he shouted ‘d**khead’ at them and they chased him up the stairs saying ‘Are you f***ing mad? You kettled me.’
“The guards heard the commotion and sounded the general alarm, and then separated them.
“One of them had burns to his face, and the other one was hit on the arms and chest but wasn’t really hurt.”
The source said that Saadi was only allowed basic privileges for two weeks as punishment, and the two lags who were attacked were sent to other prisons.
The source said: “Normally, you would go to segregation for that, but he claimed that they had been bullying him and he had defended himself.
“Afterwards, he said that the kettling had given him a nine out of 10 feeling of happiness, that he’d done it to get the feeling, and it had felt so nice.
“The guy’s a weirdo.”
The source said that after the incident, which took place ahead of his sentencing, Saadi earned the nickname Hitman among fellow prisoners.
The source said: “He told people he had done it in preparation for catching bodies.
“After he was sentenced, he threatened to kettle another prisoner who asked him about his case and also threatened to stab someone he had been with in the workshop.
“He’s a guy who likes attention. He likes to be in the limelight, and if he isn’t, he’ll do something to make sure he’s the centre of attention.”
It is understood that no one required hospital treatment as a result of the boiling water attack, and it was not considered severe enough to require a police investigation.
A Prison Service spokeswoman said: “Violence will not be tolerated in the prison estate and anyone found guilty of wrongdoing will be punished.”
Get away with murder
Misogynist Saadi believed he could get away with murder, picking two purely innocent women to play out his warped fantasy.
He spent months plotting his heinous crime and executed it to a tee, brutally killing Amie and then covering his steps by destroying all evidence and denying in cold blood that it was him.
He even picked a beauty spot on Bournemouth beach where he could make his escape, a path known locally as the 39 steps – after the classic Hitchcock thriller about a man wrongly accused of murder.
But the criminology student was no criminal mastermind and left a trail of clues, including a murderer’s toolkit, a dark internet search history of high-profile killings and knife websites, and an armoury of blades at his home.
Just days before the horrific stabbings, he had gone to watch the slasher movie The Strangers, which he later told detectives was “about a killer that kills with no motive. It’s just a movie.”
The prosecution told Winchester Crown Court: “He wanted the notoriety a killing of this sort might bring him…wanted to be the star from a true crime episode, to choose his own attack, in a motiveless killing he designed himself.”
Sick Saadi had even touched himself while in his prison cell ahead of the trial after he asked a female prison officer how much publicity the case was getting.
He had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 2024, and was shown on CCTV carrying out “reccies” of the seafront and the scene of the murder at Durley Chine, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24.
The defendant, who chose not to give evidence, always denied carrying out the attacks, saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have “blacked out” when they happened.
‘Fascination with blades’
Student Saadi, who described himself as “dumb” and “not good enough” in his studies, was living at the time with his grandad and aunt – described as “really nice people” by a neighbour – in an £800,000 house in Purley, south London.
His parents were aware of his fascination with blades – his father had previously taken two knives and an axe from him in the past.
Regardless, Saadi was able to carry on with his murderous plot.
A month before the killing, he typed “what hotels don’t have CCTV in UK” and researched whether “pebbles or sand” were easiest to run on.
On the night of Amie’s death, Saadi prowled the promenade looking for victims.
She and Leanne were the unlucky pair the cold, calculated killer picked.
Despite stabbing them 27 times, he managed to avoid leaving any DNA on them or at the scene.
There were also no clear images of him on CCTV, which could prove he was there – though a lone amateur photographer claims he walked past Saadi and later pointed him out in a police identity parade.
Searches of Saadi’s laptop showed that after returning from Bournemouth, he googled “Bournemouth beach” before opening up a press report reading “beach woman died, another seriously injured after stabbing”.
He later read a news article on the arrest of a 17-year-old boy in relation to the attack.
When armed cops raided his home four days after the killing, they found a Trespass rucksack which contained white latex gloves, a balaclava, a torch, two packets of chillis and used wet wipes.
They also seized a number of weapons, including an MTech USA extreme serrated knife and a black machete, as well as a “self-defence spray”.
In a police interview, Saadi arrogantly tried to claim he was innocent, mocking the lack of evidence against him.
He told police he enjoyed “true crime”, adding: “I like the psychology behind nature or nurture.
“I like to look at motives behind criminals. I like unsolved crimes.”
In court, Saadi’s lawyers tried to argue that he was an “innocent stooge” and the victim of a case of mistaken identity.
Charlie Sherrard KC defending said: “Like so many murder movies, on the big or small screen, the obvious candidate turns out to be an innocent stooge.”
But despite a lack of DNA or witness evidence, Saadi was found guilty by the jury.
His fascination with True Crime ironically led to his conviction.
