A violent offender who murdered his ex-partner just days after being freed from prison later begged to be locked up again, warning he would “go on a murder spree,” the Old Bailey has heard.
Robert Sabat, 60, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years after admitting murdering mother-of-two Dickiesha Nurse, 42, at her flat in Tulse Hill, south London, between October 21 and 28 last year.
Sabat made the chilling threat after his arrest for murder, having been released on licence from Wandsworth prison on October 17, just a day after receiving a 12-month sentence at Kingston Crown Court. He had been held on remand since May 2025.
Threats after release
Sabat had been convicted of possession of a bladed article and harassment relating to an incident on May 1, 2025 when he banged on the door of a former partner armed with two knives. His licence was to expire on May 22, 2026.
On being arrested on suspicion of Ms Nurse’s murder, Sabat claimed he had killed before and said: “I’m gonna go on a murder spree”, a court heard.
Begging to be sent back behind bars, he said: “I stay jail. I’ve been let out a week. Let me back. I’m happy in there, I’ve done wrong. I killed before and got away with it.”
Sentencing and background
Sentencing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, Judge Sarah Whitehouse KC said Ms Nurse, who was known as Keisha, was “adored” by her family and acknowledged the “terrible and devastating pain brought about by her death”.
Setting out the facts, prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC said Sabat, from Balham, south London, and Ms Nurse had previously been in a relationship and they had known each other for many years as the defendant was brought up by her father.
Two days after Sabat was released from prison, Ms Nurse’s children visited her and on returning home, told their father her “friend or cousin” had been there. On October 22, Ms Nurse told a neighbour Sabat was at her address and would not leave and another neighbour saw her shouting in the street “get out of my house”.
Two days later, a neighbour heard a single scream coming from the victim’s home which sounded as if a female was in distress and possibly being attacked, the court heard. Ms Nurse was last seen on CCTV the next day.
Discovery and arrest
Her secondary school-age children tried to visit on Sunday October 26 but got no response when they knocked on her door. Ms Farrelly said their father thought it was odd so contacted her mother and siblings.
Family members raised concern on Monday October 27 and paramedics went to her flat to carry out a welfare check accompanied by her sister and mother. After getting no response at the door, an ambulance crew member got in through an open window and opened the door to allow access.
Ms Farrelly said: “As they moved into the hallway, an internal door was flung open, and the defendant came through it, charging towards them, whilst brandishing a red-handled knife. The London Ambulance Service crew and family members withdrew from the property and police were called.”
Soon after, armed officers forced entry to the property and used tasers as they detained Sabat, who smelt strongly of alcohol. Ms Farrelly said officers found Ms Nurse on a bed with a pillow over her face and with multiple stab wounds to the face. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination found she had sustained around eight stab wounds, including to the left side of her face, neck and hands. Police recovered a knife with the victim’s blood on it, a bag marked “HMP valuables”, and prison records in Sabat’s name from the flat.
After being arrested on suspicion of murder, Sabat made a series of comments on route to custody. Asking to be returned to prison, he said: “Not suspicion. Murder. Murder, yeah. I’ve murdered three people so far. I’m gonna go on a murder spree.”
Victim impact
In a victim impact statement, Ms Nurse’s sister Samantha Carvalho described Sabat as a “menace to society”, saying the “heartlessness” of the killing was “impossible to comprehend”. She said: “The defendant intentionally cut her again and again, overwhelming her as she struggled for her life.” Each cut to her face was an expression of Sabat’s “ballistic rage” and he left her on the bed “like a rag doll”, she said.
Her mother Claudette McBean described her daughter as kind, loving and the “life and soul of the party”. Referring to Sabat, she said: “I do not know what he was thinking about but I keep thinking about the fact he was staying in that address all that week. If he was here now, I would ask him why he had to do what he did and why he stayed so long in that address. I could put my hands on him but I know he is another person’s child. I know there is something wrong with him.”
Ms Farrelly said the defendant had convictions dating back to 1987 including burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession, and harassment of an ex-partner. In 2013, he was made subject to a non-molestation order of a former partner and in August 2023 he was given a restraining order after being cleared of attempted murder after the complainant – his landlady – failed to attend court.
In mitigation, Alisdair Williamson KC said the defendant had lived “on the margins” with spells in jail and had struggled with his mental health, depression and anxiety. Following his arrest, Sabat said: “What have I done? I’m sorry.”
