A man captured on CCTV near where primary school teacher Sabina Nessa was killed is being urgently sought by police.
London's Metropolitan Police issued images of the man which show him walking in Pegler Square in Kidbrooke in the south-east of the city on the evening the 28-year-old was attacked.
Detectives have also released an image, captured in the same area, of a silver car they believe the man has access to and appealed for anyone who recognised either to contact the force immediately.
Detective chief inspector Neil John, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said “an extensive trawl” of CCTV in the area continued and said information on the man’s identity and whereabouts could be “vital” to the investigation.
Ms Nessa was walking to meet a friend at The Depot bar in Pegler Square near her home at around 8.30pm last Friday, a journey that should have taken just five minutes, when she was attacked.
A member of the public found her body close to the OneSpace community centre in Cator Park on Saturday at around 5.30pm.
According to reports, she was attacked with a weapon and her body was found hidden under a pile of leaves.
Ms Nessa’s cousin Zubel Ahmed remembered her as a “beautiful soul” who loved teaching, telling the BBC that she “was the most caring person – kindest, sweetest girl you could meet”.
Her death comes after the public outrage and protests over the abduction and murder of 33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard as she walked home alone in south London in March.
A vigil is being held on Friday evening at 7pm at Pegler Square for Ms Nessa and people who cannot attend are being encouraged to hold a candle at their doorstep at the same time.
Reclaim These Streets, a campaign group involved in organising the vigil for Ms Nessa, said it is “angry and heartbroken” about her murder.
Tower Hamlets Councillor Rabina Khan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme said she was attending the vigil this evening and hoped high profile people would also attend.
“I too, just like my daughters, I have a 25-year-old, I have a 21-year-old, we spoke up for Sarah Everard,” she said.
“When we saw high profile people who attended (Ms Everard’s vigil), I was really pleased and proud that the Duchess of Cambridge attended the vigil of Sarah Everard and I hope, tonight, we see many profiled people attending Sabina Nessa’s vigil.”
The Metropolitan Police said a 38-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of Ms Nessa’s murder.
The suspect was arrested at an address in Lewisham on Thursday and is being questioned in custody.
It is the second arrest Scotland Yard has made in connection with the attack.
On Saturday, detectives arrested a man in his 40s on suspicion of murder before he was released under further investigation.
