Man jailed for killing former partner days after his release

A violent offender who was released from jail the day after he was sentenced stabbed his former partner and then begged to be returned to prison because he was going to "go on a murder spree", the Old Bailey has heard.

Robert Sabat, 60, pleaded guilty to murdering 42-year-old mother-of-two Dickiesha Nurse, who he stabbed at her flat in Tulse Hill, south London, last October.

He had been released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on 17 October 2025 after being sentenced the day before to a 12-month jail sentence for possession of a bladed article and harassment. He had been in prison on remand since May 2025 when he was freed.

Sabat, of Balham, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 17 years.

When he was released in October 2025, Sabat had served 40% of his 12-month sentence instead of the previous 50% requirement, in line with the government's change to offenders' automatic release dates, which began the month before.

Last week, the Sentencing Act 2026 replaced this policy and some prisoners can now be released after they have served a third of their sentence.

When he was arrested on suspicion of Nurse's murder, Sabat claimed he had killed before and was planning a "murder spree".

He told officers: "I'm a murderer, I don't want to come back out, I wanna go to 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.

"I've murdered three people so far. I'm gonna go on a murder spree."

Outlining the facts of the case, prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC said Sabat and Nurse had been in a relationship and had known each other for many years as the defendant was brought up by her father.

Two days after Sabat was released from prison, Nurse's children visited her and on returning home, told their father her "friend or cousin" had been there.

On 22 October, Nurse told a neighbour Sabat was at her address and would not leave. Another neighbour saw her in the street shouting: "Get out of my house."

Two days later, a neighbour heard a single scream coming from the victim's home, the court heard.

Nurse was last seen on CCTV on 25 October. Her children tried to visit the following day but got no response when they knocked on her door.

Her family raised concerns on 27 October and paramedics entered the flat, where the defendant, armed with a knife, charged at a paramedic, the court heard.

The London Ambulance Service crew and family members withdrew from the property and police were called, Farrelly said.

Soon after, armed officers forced entry to the property and used Tasers as they detained Sabat.

Farrelly said officers found 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 about eight stab wounds, including to the left side of her face, neck and hands.