The inquest’s jury found ‘Zara’s death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies’.
Farah Naz, the aunt of Zara Aleena, has said “her brutal murder could and should have been prevented” following the conclusion of an inquest which found that failures by multiple agencies contributed to her death.
Jordan McSweeney killed the 35-year-old law graduate as she walked home from a night out in Ilford in the early hours of June 26 2022, nine days after he was released from prison.
The inquest’s jury found “Zara’s death was contributed to by the failure of multiple state agencies to act in accordance to policies and procedures – to share intelligence, accurately assess risk of serious harm, (and) act and plan in response to the risk in a sufficient, timely and co-ordinated way”.
In a statement, Ms Naz said her family remain “devastated by our enormous loss”.
“Zara should be alive today,” she said.
“Her brutal murder could and should have been prevented. It is clear from the evidence we have heard that there are significant issues of under-resourcing across the system.”
She added she remains committed to campaigning to end male violence against women and girls in Ms Aleena’s name.
“We hope Zara’s legacy will be real change for women and girls,” she said.
