Plea to ensure killers face their ‘moment of reckoning’ in court

THE aunt of murdered law graduate Zara Aleena has called for the justice system to “ensure murderers face their sentencing”.

- By Paul Jeeves

She spoke out after Kyle Clifford refused to face a judge on Monday over the murders of Louise, Hannah and Carol Hunt.

He became the latest killer not to attend his hearing, as Cambridge Crown Court was told he refused to leave his cell at HMP Belmarsh.

Farah Naz, the aunt of Zara, whose killer Jordan McSweeney also failed to appear in court to hear his life sentence handed down, said “legal levers” should be used to ensure perpetrators “face that moment of reckoning” in court.

Speaking of the day McSweeney refused to appear, Ms Naz said: “It did feel like one more injustice.

“You know, he took Zara’s life, and he took away our chance to see him face what he'd done. And it appeared as if he was above, just as untouchable, and we were left with an empty dock where accountability should have been. The process felt incomplete.”