Mrs Justice Cheema says it was likely Zara Aleena was unconscious when she was assaulted, but adds "I'm sure she will have suffered inordinately and this is an aggravating feature".

She adds that she has “no doubt” that McSweeney intended to kill Aleena.

“The nature of the attack – stamping on her head, and the fact he returned twice – [shows] this was a determined intention to kill”.

Image source, Old Bailey

The judge said she did not believe Jordan McSweeney’s actions on the night of the attack were an “aberration”.

“It was a steep and sudden escalation of violence that had simmered in his life for many years.”

She described him as a “pugnacious and deeply violent man with a propensity to violence”.

Helena Wilkinson
reporting from the Old Bailey

Members of Zara Aleena’s family are sitting opposite us listening carefully to the judge’s sentencing remarks.

One of them has begun to cry.

The horrific details of what happened to Aleena are being told again by the judge as she gets closer to the sentence she will impose on McSweeney.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says the defendant has shown a large number of incidents of aggression in the past, including in prison. He also committed domestic abuse against previous partners – including slapping one, kicking her, beating her in the ribs and dragging her along the road.

Violence is his “default presentation,” the judge says.

The starting point for the sentencing, agreed by both sides, is 30 years in prison, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says.

But the judge adds the defence has said a much stronger sentence is needed than the minimum term.

She notes that the evidence shows McSweeney was planning to commit a sexual offence, rather than to kill.

But Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb adds she disagrees "this is the case of someone seeking intimate encounter", adding this is "far too neutral a term" for what happened.

She says he showed resolve to find and attack a vulnerable female, adding "I'm sure he intended to sexually assault a woman violently".

The judge goes on to say she is not sentencing on basis of premeditated murder, but notes McSweeney was quite prepared to kill if necessary.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said McSweeney would be sentenced despite not appearing in court today.

She said his “excuse” that he didn’t want to “revisit the events he is responsible for” showed he had “no spine whatsoever”.

“The defendant’s decision not to come up from the cells to court to hear the devastating impact of his crime shows that the man who took Zara Aleena’s life has no spine whatsoever."

Aleena is described by Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb as "talented, spirited, intelligent and kind". She was spending an evening with her friends, she had done nothing wrong and taken no misstep, the judge adds.

"She was a happy and healthy women living her life in what most Londoners think of as the best city in the world."

McSweeney's demeanour and the CCTV footage "suggests no cares, no regrets, no contrition" Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says.

She says he told police he was on medication for ADHD, and suffered from a split personality disorder and that he had been bitten by a dog.

The judge adds he also threatened police officers at the station and refused medical treatment for the dog wound.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Aleena was “stamped and strangled to death”.

She said she suffered dozens of separate injuries in the attack, including a traumatic brain injury which ultimately led to her death.

Aleena's body was found by two couples walking past, and some of those have been traumatised.

Justice Cheema-Grubb says the court commends their “swift and compassionate action” and said “all that could be done was done by the medical professionals who answered the call”.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says it is clear McSweeney was "wholly aware of what he was doing".

She says this is clear because when he realised someone was coming, he bent out of sight of them, as the CCTV footage shows.

The judge goes on to detail how McSweeney searched Aleena's body after killing her.

She says the attack lasted for nine minutes, with many of her personal belongings stolen and then abandoned nearby.

The judge has told the court how McSweeney “had the advantage of surprise and strength” when he attacked Aleena.

“He grabbed her and pulled her backwards. One arm around her neck. The other around her mouth.”

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said Zara Aleena had tried to fight back, and must have become unconscious.

Thomas Mackintosh
reporting from the Old Bailey

The judge is recapping a lot of the facts we've heard earlier - noting the brutal and savage assault on Zara Aleena lasted just over nine minutes.

Her family have been incredibly dignified throughout today's proceedings and even having to put up with an absent murderer.

Understandably, as Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb details the killing, members of Ms Aleena's family can be seen wiping away tears and consoling each other.

Justice Cheema-Grubb says on the night she was killed Aleena and her friend left a bar in Ilford at 2am, and Aleena decided to walk home because she did not have far to go. Once her friend got home, she checked to see if Aleena had got home safely, but never got a response.

Shortly after, Aleena and the McSweeney reached the junction at the same time. “It was a fatal coincidence”.

McSweeney deployed "some degree of subterfuge" when following a second woman earlier in the night, the judge says.

She's recapping his actions on that night, describing how he followed this woman as part of looking for someone to attack - including entering shops while she seemed to be attempting to evade him.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grub says his pursuit of this woman, who has not been identified, lasted for 21 minutes.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb has told the court how much Zara Aleena meant to her family.

She described her as “confident and active” and said her values were “entirely the opposite” of McSweeney’s.

She says Zara Aleena was “her mother’s only child and her death has broken that woman.”

“Zara’s absence is being felt constantly by the entire family… the light has gone out from their lives”

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says that on the night of the attacks – nine days after he was released from prison – McSweeney was “prowling the streets of Ilford looking for a woman to attack”.

His victim was a “complete stranger” and someone whose “values and character were entirely the opposite of his”, she says, adding that Aleena’s family have told the court in “articulate, elegant and moving terms how precious and special she was”.

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb opens her sentencing by listing Jordan McSweeney's previous convictions - 28 convictions for 69 crimes, dating back to 2006.

She says they range from racially motivated offences, driving offences to assaults on police.

The judge says he began his criminal career as a teenager, which she acknowledges may be indicative of his dysfunctional family life.

But Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubbadds says nothing in his life, like being denied affection from his parents, is an excuse for his actions.

The judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, has started to deliver her sentencing remarks.

You can watch the sentencing by clicking the green play icon at the top of this page.

We're back under way here in courtroom two at the Old Bailey.

Once again, the notable absentee in the dock is Jordan McSweeney.

He has refused to come to court to be sentenced for a third time.

Defence barrister George Carter-Stephenson KC says: "I have spoken to Mr McSweeney and passed on your comments and he has decided he does not want to."

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb is about to start her remarks - a reminder you can watch by clicking the play button at the top of the page.