Banker Zahid Naseem jailed for Murder of Escort after Sex

City banker Zahid Naseem, aged 48, has been jailed for murdering high-class escort, Christine Abbotts, after he had sex with her in a flat in Crawley, West Sussex.

Naseem from Amersham in Buckinghamshire was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on December 21, 2018.

He was jailed for 19 years for the brutal murder of Ms Abbots, after she was hit violently on the back of her head 13 times by him with a pestle from the kitchen in May 2018.

He claimed that a sex game had gone wrong and he struck Ms Abbotts in self-defence with the fear that he was being strangled to death.

However, the jury took four hours to deliberate the outcome of finding Naseem guilty of the murdering the escort.

The Secret Life of Ms Abbotts

The murder of Ms Abbots brought to light that she was secretly working as an adult sex worker whilst her family thought she was working in IT. She used the pseudonym name Tilly Pexton to advertise her sex services as an escort on the website AdultWork.com.

Her profile created in 2015 on the site had been viewed over 48,000 times. Since that time she had been working as a sex worker under the guise of Ms Pexton.

Abbotts was from Stourbridge in the West Midlands and studied business at the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester before going to Oxford Brookes University.

However, she did not complete her studies and took on a job.

Christine’s father, Michael Abbotts, said he was “never fully aware” of what she did for a living. Adding that she had “very posh friends”, went to the theatre, polo, Royal Ascot and travelled a lot.

A friend of Christine’s, Howard Joseph, who is a commercial airline pilot did not know she was a sex worker.

Joseph said that she liked to party, was “very personable” and was in “that kind of social group” which drank and took drugs.

He said that a colleague of hers feared she was addicted to cocaine.

Her parents remember Christine as “a loving, caring and loyal daughter, sister, niece and friend” who was going to be 29-years-old, after the night of her death.

Zahid Naseem’s Addiction

Naseem was an inherent part of London’s financial district, and drinking for him daily was “part of the culture”. For nearly ten years he spent a large amount of his huge salary on alcohol, cocaine and sex workers.

The father of two children, Naseem had been in a long-term relationship with a partner with whom he lived in a £600,000 house in Amersham. However, he said their relationship fizzled out after it began with a “whirlwind romance”.

He claimed that his children were “the best thing” in his life and tried to spend as much time possible with them when he was not working.

However, the court heard that Naseem spent a lot of his free time with escorts and under the intoxication of drugs and drink.

He frequently visited sex clubs and participated in orgies and swinging parties. Such as The Vault, Killing Kittens, Heaven’s Circle, Cake Party and Club Anti-Christ.

He said he turned to sex workers because his desire to have “pleasant company, warmth and maybe some intimacy” had “vanished” at home.

For nearly a decade Naseem indulged in hiring sex workers, taking cocaine and drinking daily.

He got addicted to this way of life.

He said that London was full of “very well-educated young ladies” who knew they could earn a side income if they connected with the right people.

Naseem grew up in Southall and was “top of the class”. He studied economics at the University of Durham, gaining sponsorship for his degree from Sainsbury’s.

In 1992, he found work with HSBC soon after graduating. He then joined Merrill Lynch for 10 years, who sent him to New York.

Despite an annual salary of £250,000, in 2012, due to the travel and stress of the job, Naseem left to become a freelance consultant.

From January 2018, he gained a position at Toronto-Dominion Bank’s London office. The court heard that Naseem might’ve been in debt.

The Meeting and Murder

It was during this job, Naseem came across the ‘Tilly Pexton’ profile of Christine Abbotts in April 2018, on the AdultWork.com site, which offered rates of £1000 to spend a night with her.

He had met Ms Abbotts on a few occasions prior to the night of her murder. Including having lunches with her at expensive restaurants and staying nights in five-star hotels, such as The Ned.

Naseem arranged to meet her in Crawley this time, on the evening of May 24, 2018, to spend the night with him at her flat in Crawley.

They were both seen on CCTV footage in Asda supermarket where he kissed her on the forehead and was buying Veuve-Clicquot, the brand of champagne favoured by her.

They also obtained cocaine for the night as well and then went to her flat.

It was not until May 25, 2018, her birthday, when the alarm was raised by worried friends to police that she had not turned up for her birthday party in South Kensington.

In the early hours of May 26, 2018, police broke down the door of the flat in the early hours of the morning found her body.

Officers in the next room found Naseem who was pretending to be unconscious. He was naked in a dressing gown lying on a sofa. Around him were partly drunk alcohol glasses, items related to taking drugs and some underwear.

During his transfer to the hospital, the paramedics treating him were convinced that he was play-acting. It was not until he was arrested in the hospital that he ‘woke up’ and reacted with claims of not knowing what happened.

When interviewed by police, Naseem initially stated he could not recall the incident.

He said that he was “not some hyper, high-functioning psychopath” who was trying to make up some story about the murder “a la Silence of the Lambs”.

Watch a video clip of the interview by Sussex Police of Zahid Naseem:

However, in court, he did admit to hitting Ms Abbots but still confessed it as self-defence while a “red mist” came over him.

This testimony was dismissed as a “pack of lies” by prosecutor Christopher Tehrani and said he had “relentlessly” carried during this horrific and”savage” attack on Ms Abbotts.

Additionally, it was revealed that Zahid Naseem stayed in the same flat for 12 hours after killing Ms Abbotts. Where he continued to drink, took drugs and even sent pornographic images and videos to other escorts.

Also, Naseem had no explanation for how the pestle and mortar bowl came to the bedroom, after being found in the kitchen by police.

The killing of Ms Abbotts was a frenzied attack while Naseem was high on cocaine and under the influence of champagne.

Sentencing

Naseem was given life imprisonment with a minimum term of 19 years.

Judge Christine Laing sentencing Zahid Naseem at in Lewes Crown Court told him:

“Your attack was of extraordinary ferocity.”

“When I consider the extent of the injuries, you inflicted considerable pain.

“The terror of her final moments in life is unimaginable.”

In addition, Judge Laing did highlight that what Ms Abbot did for work did increase the risk and danger of harm, saying:

“She had chosen to earn her money in a business that is as old as time.

“And one that has always carried with it huge risks of danger, as this case sadly demonstrated.”

Talking about the case Detective Chief Inspector Emma Heater of Sussex Police said the safety of Ms Abbotts was overshadowed by her killer, saying: 

“The only person responsible for Christina’s death is Mr Naseem.” 

“Many jobs carry risks where you have to meet and deal with strangers.”

Ms Abbot’s family said in a statement read in court:

“We will miss her coming home to visit us as she always managed to brighten up our lives, always happy and positive.”

Naseem’s lawyer Lewis Power QC highlighted his career achievements, saying Naseem had achieved “high status” in his prime while working as a risk analyst.

But then said:

“He’s now fallen from grace in the most dramatic of manners.”