CRIME: SCHOOLGIRL STABBED TO DEATH BY EX-BOYFRIEND

A schoolgirl was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend despite her mother warning police he had threatened to kill her, an inquest was told today.

Arsema Dawit, 15, was stabbed more than 50 times by her obsessive ex Thomas Nugusse in the lift of the block of flats where she lived with her family in June 2008.

Her mother, Tsehynesh Medhani  went to Kennington police just over a month before the brutal killing, but Southwark Crown Court was told that officers took two weeks to interview Nugusse and were still investigating when Miss Dawit was attacked.

Even as Miss Dawit, her mother and cousin Melyon Isak were in a police station reporting the threats, and an incident at a McDonald's where Nugusse had slapped her in the face giving her a black eye, Nugusse was sending threats and trying to warn them off telling the police, Southwark Crown Court was told.

Miss Isak told the court a police worker she spoke to did not seem to take the threats seriously and told the inquest: "When I said that she (Miss Dawit) had been assaulted she  kind of laughed and said in a joking kind of way 'why did you let him do that to you?' with a smile on her face."

While they were at the police station Nugusse texted Miss Isak with the warning "stay out of it don't get involved".

Miss Isak also told the court that Nugusse left a voice message which said "It doesn't matter what you guys do I'm going to find her anyway".

Miss Dawit's body was found covered in blood by neighbours in a lift at a block of flats in Matheson Lang Gardens in London's Waterloo. A knife was also found in the lift.

The inquest has heard the teenager, who was originally from Eritrea, had been stabbed almost 60 times, with more than 50 wounds to her neck and others to her back and chest.

Nugusse, who was 21 at the time of the attack, confessed but he could not be tried after suffering brain damage in a suicide attempt in prison.

In 2009, an Old Bailey jury was not permitted to return conventional innocent or guilty verdicts and instead found that Nugusse had "committed the acts".

He was detained indefinitely under the Mental Health Act.

The teenager's mother, Tsehaynesh Medihani, won a High Court case in April 2012 for a full inquest.

In 2010, the IPCC reported on "collective and organisational failings" because police had failed to act on an allegation by Arsema that Nugusse threatened to kill her five weeks prior to her killing.

But the report also said that although more could have been done to save her, no-one was to blame for the death.

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said in response to the report: "This murder was a tragic loss to this family and the MPS offers its condolences to the Dawit family for the death of their daughter Arsema.

"We welcome the recommendations from the IPCC and have incorporated the learning into our development programme."

The inquest continues.

SOURCE: MIRROW.CO.UK