Zara Aleena’s murderer could have been recalled to prison earlier, inquest told

Zara Aleena’s murderer was falsely graded a medium risk of serious harm to the public and could have been recalled to prison earlier, an inquest has heard.

Jordan McSweeney was released from prison nine days before he killed the 35-year-old law graduate as she walked home from a night out in Ilford, east London, early on June 26 2022.

During the inquest at East London Coroner’s Court, McSweeney’s probation worker was asked to reassess evidence of his previous behaviour.

The officer concluded that McSweeney should have been graded high risk and, had he been, he would have pushed for him to have been recalled earlier.

On the day of his release, McSweeney missed his initial probation appointment and his mother told staff he had passed out drunk at her house, the inquest heard.

The appointment was rearranged for June 20 but McSweeney again failed to attend, and when staff contacted his mother she told them she did not know where he was.

She said he could be staying with his grandmother but she did not have her contact details.

His probation worker, recently-qualified Austin Uwaifo, said: “At the time, the thinking was that because he came out on the Friday, my thinking was to give him the opportunity to return – possibly he came out and decided to, for whatever reason, decided to go out and get drunk.”

McSweeney missed another appointment on June 22.

During a work break that day, Mr Uwaifo flagged McSweeney’s absence to the head of service at the probation offices, who recommended he be recalled.

The recall process was started but it was not signed off until the late afternoon on June 24.

In the early hours of June 26, McSweeney attacked Ms Aleena.

Mr Uwaifo said the probation office was not staffed over the weekend but that he would have requested a faster out-of-hours emergency recall if McSweeney had been graded high risk.

The probation service marked “no” on whether they wanted an emergency recall in documents shown to the inquest.

On a report completed by Mr Uwaifo, McSweeney’s risk of serious harm was described as high in a long-form summary of his behaviour.

But in a risk assessment at the end of the same document, it was graded medium and low.

The report was sent to housing authorities to request temporary accommodation for McSweeney, and it said members of the public were “at physical harm and emotional harm as indicated by previous offending behaviour, but the group most at risk is males of a similar age to him”.

“There are concerns around negative associates and some indication of involvement or loose associations with gangs,” the report stated.

“(McSweeney) has previous convictions for weapon possessions which, if used, would cause serious harm.

“There is evidence of domestic abuse and (McSweeney) has been both a victim and a perpetrator – however it should be noted that he has never been convicted of an offence towards a partner.”

Reading from the report, area coroner Nadia Persaud said: “‘His behaviour in custody suggests an immanence in risk in custody, he has been caught in possession of improvised weapons several times’.

“Does that put him very high risk?”

Mr Uwaifu responded: “In custody? I would say that puts him between high and very high.”

But in the summary he was graded a low risk to children in the community and in custody; a medium risk to the public in the community and low risk in custody; a medium risk to staff in the community and custody; and a medium risk to prisoners.

Asked why the subsequent list was different, he said: “That may have been an oversight on my part. I had created an assessment for the purpose of getting something to housing.

“This was – I hadn’t fully – I hadn’t been thorough, in relation to the risk assessment.

“The main purpose of it was to generate the form to send to housing. But yes, the risk assessment should have been reviewed.”

McSweeney was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 38 years at the Old Bailey in December 2022 after admitting Ms Aleena’s murder and sexual assault.

In November 2023, he won a Court of Appeal bid to reduce the minimum term of his life sentence.

The inquest continues.