A candlelight vigil will be held in Kidbrooke to mark the life of 28-year-old suspected murder victim Sabina Nessa. 

The 28-year-old, who taught at Rushey Green Primary School in Lewisham, was found dead near the OneSpace community centre in Cator Park on Saturday.

Her death is being treated as a murder, and a man in his 40s who was arrested on suspicion of killing her has been released under further investigation.

On Friday, members of the community will gather in Peglar square from 7pm.

Annie Gibbs, the vice-chair of the Kidbrooke forum community group, told The Guardian: “We are a loving community and we have a strong sense of solidarity.

“Everyone wants the same thing – to support Sabina’s family and to make sure that we find whoever did this, so that she can get justice.

“We want people to respect and honour her life and make sure that we send a loud and clear message that we are a united community and this violent act isn’t going to divide us.

“Violence isn’t welcome here and we will stand up against it. Although many people didn’t know Sabina, our community is one.”

The vigil is being supported by  Reclaim These Streets, an activist group formed in the wake of Sarah Everard’s murder

A similar event in March was controversially broken up by police for contravening Covid restrictions.

Lisa Williams, head of Rushey Green Primary School, remembered Sabina as “kind, caring and absolutely dedicated to her pupils.”

“She had so much life ahead of her and so much more to give and her loss is desperately sad,” Ms Williams added.

“As a school we are supporting each other through this very difficult time, and we will be providing specialist support to those who need it.”

Scotland Yard previously described the suspected murder as a “shocking incident”.

The Met said a post-mortem examination carried out at Greenwich Mortuary on Monday was inconclusive, and Ms Nessa’s family have been told.

Police believe Sabina was attacked at around 8.30pm on Friday as she walked through Cator Park in Kidbrooke.

Detective Superintendent Luke Marks said there was a “short delay” in finding her body because it was “not on the main walkway”.

Detective Chief Inspector Joe Garrity urged anyone who might have been in the park around the time of the incident and seen someone acting suspiciously to contact police.

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