A City banker who bludgeoned a high-class escort to death with a pestle on her 29th birthday has been jailed for at least 19 years. In a brutal killing fuelled by cocaine and champagne, Zahid Naseem struck Christina Abbotts 13 times on the back of the head with the ceramic kitchen utensil in May. The year-old financial consultant claimed he hit her in self-defence, fearing he was being strangled to death in a sex game gone wrong. But a jury in Lewes Crown Court rejected his defence, finding him guilty of murder after four hours of deliberations.
Her family believed she worked in IT but secretly she had advertised her services on site AdultWork. The pair were last seen in public on the evening of May 24 when Naseem met her in Crawley before spending the night together. CCTV showed him standing in an Asda supermarket aisle kissing her on the forehead as they bought her favourite brand of champagne, Veuve-Clicquot. Worried friends started searching for her when she failed to turn up to her birthday party in South Kensington the next day.
Police found her body when they broke down the door of the flat in the early hours of the morning on May They discovered Naseem pretending to be unconscious in the next room, lying on a sofa naked apart from a dressing gown, surrounded by half-drunk glasses of alcohol, drugs paraphernalia and underwear.
Paramedics were convinced he was play-acting, but he only woke up fully when he was arrested in hospital, claiming to have no idea what happened. When he gave evidence in court, he admitted striking Ms Abbotts but claimed it was in self-defence. He said Naseem stayed in the flat for 12 hours after her death โ drinking, taking drugs and sending pornographic pictures and videos to other escorts.
For nearly a decade he hired sex workers, drank on an almost daily basis and took cocaine, telling the court this behaviour was common in the financial district. We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused. Please report any comments that break our rules.
