Man charged with murder of British teacher Sabina Nessa

British police say they have charged a man with the murder of female teacher Sabina Nessa who was found dead near her home in London, a killing that again raised public anger about violence towards women.

Nessa, 28, left her home in Kidbrooke, south London, on the evening of September 17 to make the five-minute walk through a local park to a bar where she was due to meet a friend.

She never arrived and her body was found in the park nearly 24 hours later covered with leaves.

Police said on Monday they have charged 36-year-old Koci Selamaj who is due to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court in London on Tuesday.

The suspect is understood to have been working as a food delivery driver.

Police had earlier released CCTV footage of a man seen along Nessa’s route on the night she was killed, asking anyone who recognised him to contact them immediately.

Police said the man is believed to have been carrying a reflective red object that he may have been trying to conceal up his sleeve.

Nessa was a teacher at Rushey Green Primary School in Catford, southeast London.

Vigils were held in the local area and across the United Kingdom to remember Nessa and to highlight violence against women.

On Friday, hundreds of people, including her sister, gathered for a candlelit vigil organised in Pegler Square, London.

Jebina Yasmin Islam, Nessa’s sister, broke down as she addressed crowds.

“Words cannot describe how we are feeling, this feels like we are stuck in a bad dream and can’t get out of it – our world is shattered, we are simply lost for words,” she said. “No family should go through what we are going through.”

Nessa’s death has fueled concerns that women are not safe on the streets of the UK’s capital.

Her killing came six months after there was a huge public outcry and demands for action after another woman, Sarah Everard, was abducted, raped and murdered in south London in March by a police officer.

The Everard case shocked the country and saw thousands take to the streets to denounce violence against women.