Man Who Killed Ex-Partner Days After Early Release Jailed for Life

A 60-year-old man who stabbed his former partner to death just days after being freed from prison under revised early release rules has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 17 years.

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. The Old Bailey heard that he had been released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on 17 October 2025, only one day after receiving a 12-month jail term for possessing a bladed article and for harassing the same woman. He had been held on remand since May 2025.

Under changes introduced by the government the previous month, Sabat was freed after serving 40% of his sentence rather than the 50% that had previously been required. The policy marked a shift in the automatic release dates for certain offenders. Last week, the Sentencing Act 2026 replaced that arrangement, and some prisoners can now be released after serving a third of their term — a further expansion of early release mechanisms that has intensified debate over public safety.

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 brought up by her father. Two days after his release, Nurse's children visited her home and, on returning to their father, mentioned that her "friend or cousin" had been present. On 22 October, Nurse told a neighbour that Sabat was at her address and refused to leave. Another neighbour witnessed her shouting in the street: "Get out of my house."

The violence escalated in the early hours of 25 October, when a neighbour heard a single scream coming from the victim's home. CCTV captured Nurse for the last time that day. Her children attempted to visit the following day but received no answer when they knocked. Concerns were raised by family members on 27 October, prompting paramedics to enter the flat. The court heard that Sabat, armed with a knife, charged at a paramedic, forcing the London Ambulance Service crew and relatives to retreat and call police.

Armed officers soon forced entry and used Tasers to detain Sabat. Inside, officers discovered Nurse lying on a bed with a pillow over 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.

When arrested on suspicion of murder, Sabat made a series of chilling remarks to officers. He claimed he had killed before and was planning a "murder spree". According to the prosecution, he said: "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."

Police recovered a knife with Nurse's blood on it from the flat, along with a bag marked "HMP valuables" and prison records in Sabat's name — items that underscored how recently he had left custody.

In mitigation, Alisdair Williamson KC described Sabat as having lived "on the margins" with repeated spells in jail and a history of mental health struggles, including depression and anxiety. However, the court also heard that his criminal record stretched back to 1987 and included convictions for burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession and harassment of a former partner. In 2013, he was made subject to a non-molestation order involving a different ex-partner, and in August 2023 he received a restraining order after being cleared of attempted murder when the complainant — his landlady — did not attend court.

Victim impact statements painted a picture of a woman whose life was cruelly cut short. Nurse's sister, Samantha Carvalho, branded Sabat a "menace to society" and said the "heartlessness" of the killing was "impossible to comprehend". Her mother, Claudette McBean, remembered her daughter as kind, loving and the "life and soul of the party".

The case has renewed scrutiny of the government's early release policies, which are designed to ease prison overcrowding but have faced criticism when released individuals go on to commit grave offences. Legal commentators note that the overlap between domestic abuse cases and early release is particularly fraught, as repeat harassment and knife possession are often precursors to more serious violence. The circumstances of Sabat's release — freed one day after sentencing and offending within a week — have been cited by victim advocates as evidence that risk assessments and licence conditions require urgent strengthening.

The Ministry of Justice has previously defended the changes as necessary to manage an overstretched prison estate, but opposition figures and charities have called for a pause or review. For Nurse's family, the sentence brings a measure of legal closure but no relief from their loss. The case now stands as a stark illustration of the consequences when early release intersects with a long history of violence against women.