Moment Half-Naked Banker Was Found By Police After Allegedly Beating Escort To Death

A video shown to jurors shows the moment police burst into a home to discover a half-naked City banker after he allegedly bludgeoned an escort to death.

Jurors at Lewes Crown Court in London watched as police officers discovered Zahid Naseem lying on a sofa wearing nothing but a dressing gown as Christina Abbotts lay dead in her bed in the next room.

She advertised her services under the name Tilly Pexton on AdultWork.com and earned up to £3,500 a time when she met Naseem, who denies her murder, instead claiming he woke to find her dead.

Her body was found by police in the top-floor flat she had been house-sitting for friend Peter Nuttall in Crawley after worried friends started searching for her when she failed to turn up to her birthday party in South Kensington.

Naseem stayed in the flat for 12 hours after her death – drinking, taking drugs and sending pornographic pictures and videos to other escorts, prosecutor Christopher Tehrani previously told the court.

Footage captured on police body-worn cameras showed officers breaking into the flat and shouting “there’s someone else in here” when they found Naseem after discovering Ms Abbotts’ body.

The 48-year-old – dressed in a dark suit, white shirt, green tie and glasses – sat in the dock and looked at the floor, cupping his chin with his hand, for the majority of the time the footage was played.

The West Midlands-born “socialite”, who led a party lifestyle in London mixing with “posh” and wealthy friends, was hit 13 times on the head with a pestle on May 25 – the day of her 29th birthday.

Her family and friends thought the “privately educated city girl” and “social media addict” worked in IT.

But the former student of the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester and Oxford Brookes University drop-out was leading a secret life as a high-class escort.

As the camera moves around the sitting room, white powder is seen on a book by the computer, empty bottles and wine glasses cover a coffee table and women’s underwear is seen on the floor.

In the recording, officers discuss whether Naseem is dead, but then call for an ambulance when they see his eyes moving.

Describing himself as someone with “OCD” who is a freelance risk manager for large trading firms and investment banks, Naseem said he had been working in Toronto-Dominion Bank’s London office before leaving to spend the evening with Ms Abbotts.

He told officers the pair took an Uber taxi to the West Sussex town’s Asda supermarket because “there was no Waitrose around”, buying bottles of her favourite champagne Veuve-Clicquot.

CCTV captured Naseem appearing to kiss Ms Abbotts on the head while they stood in one of the aisles.

This was the last time they were seen publicly together and she is thought to have been killed the next day, the court previously heard.

He said the pair then “pretty much spent the evening naked, being intimate, drinking and taking drugs” and also having a bath together, adding: “We continued doing lines all night and into the morning.”

Describing their relationship, he said she was “bubbly” and “very friendly” but “dogmatic”, adding: “I wouldn’t say she was an escort. She’s some sort of socialite. The city’s full of people like that.”

The trial continues.