London Man Who Begged to Stay in Prison Gets Life for Murdering Ex-Partner Days After Early Release

A 60-year-old man who confessed to killing his former partner and then pleaded with police to return him to prison has been sentenced to life imprisonment, in a case that has intensified scrutiny of the government's early release scheme for offenders in England and Wales.

Robert Sabat, of Balham, south London, admitted murdering Dickiesha Nurse, a 42-year-old mother of two, at her flat in Tulse Hill in October 2025. He was handed a life sentence at the Old Bailey with a minimum term of 17 years.

The killing took place just days after Sabat walked free from HMP Wandsworth on 17 October 2025, having been sentenced the previous day to a 12-month jail term for possession of a bladed article and harassment. He had been held on remand since May 2025.

Under the government's revised automatic release rules introduced in September 2025, Sabat was released after serving only 40% of his sentence, rather than the 50% threshold that had previously applied. The policy was subsequently replaced by the Sentencing Act 2026, which last week came into force and allows some prisoners to be released after serving as little as a third of their term.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC told the court that Sabat and Nurse had been in a relationship and had known each other for many years, as the defendant had been raised by the victim's father. The court heard the pair had a long and troubled history together spanning decades.

Two days after Sabat's release, Nurse's children visited her home and reported on returning to their father that a "friend or cousin" had been at the property. On 22 October, Nurse told a neighbour that Sabat was at her address and refusing to leave, while another neighbour witnessed her shouting in the street: "Get out of my house."

Two days later, a neighbour heard a single scream emanating from the victim's flat. CCTV captured Nurse for the last time on 25 October. Her children attempted to visit the following day but received no answer when they knocked on the door, and the family raised concerns on 27 October.

When paramedics entered the flat, Sabat charged at one of them while armed with a knife, prompting the London Ambulance Service crew and family members to withdraw and call police. Armed officers soon forced entry and used Tasers to detain the defendant.

Officers discovered Nurse lying on a bed with a pillow covering her face and multiple stab wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination later identified around eight stab wounds, including injuries to the left side of her face, neck and hands.

Police recovered a knife bearing the victim's blood from the flat, along with a bag marked "HMP valuables" and prison records in Sabat's name — items that underscored how recently he had been freed before the attack.

Speaking after his arrest on suspicion of murder, Sabat made a series of disturbing admissions to officers. He claimed he had killed before and described plans to embark on a "murder spree," telling police: "I'm a murderer, I don't want to come back out, I wanna go to jail... I've been let out a week." He added: "Let me back... I'm happy in there, I've done wrong. I killed before and got away with it. I've murdered three people so far. I'm gonna go on a murder spree."

In mitigation, defence barrister Alisdair Williamson KC said Sabat had lived "on the margins" with periods spent in custody and had struggled with mental health difficulties, depression and anxiety. The court also heard he had convictions dating back to 1987, including burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession and harassment of a former partner.

In 2013, Sabat was made subject to a non-molestation order involving a former partner, and in August 2023 he received a restraining order after being cleared of attempted murder when the complainant — his landlady — failed to attend court.

In a victim impact statement, Nurse's sister Samantha Carvalho branded Sabat a "menace to society" and said the "heartlessness" of the killing was "impossible to comprehend." The victim's mother, Claudette McBean, remembered her daughter as kind, loving and the "life and soul of the party."

The case has renewed debate about the balance between reducing prison overcrowding and protecting the public, with critics arguing that early release for offenders with histories of violence and harassment carries inherent risks. Supporters of sentencing reform maintain that automatic release provisions are necessary to manage prison capacity, but the circumstances of this case are likely to fuel calls for closer risk assessments before inmates are returned to the community.