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

A 60-year-old man who murdered his former partner 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 killing 42-year-old mother-of-two Dickiesha Nurse at her flat in Tulse Hill in October 2025. He pleaded guilty to murder at the Old Bailey, where a judge handed down the life sentence.

The case has drawn attention to the government's changes to automatic release dates for prisoners, which came into force shortly before the killing. Sabat had been released on licence from HMP Wandsworth on 17 October 2025, the day after he was sentenced 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 revised rules introduced the previous month, Sabat was freed after serving 40% of his sentence rather than the 50% previously required. A further change enacted in the Sentencing Act 2026 replaced that policy last week, meaning some prisoners can now be released after serving just one-third of their term.

The court heard that when Sabat was arrested on suspicion of Ms Nurse's murder, he claimed he had killed before and was planning a "murder spree", begging officers to return him to prison. He told them he was "a murderer" who did not want to be released, adding that he had "done wrong" and would kill again.

Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC outlined how Sabat and Ms 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, Ms Nurse's children visited her and reported that a "friend or cousin" had been at the address.

On 22 October, Ms Nurse told a neighbour that Sabat was at her flat 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 from the victim's home. Ms Nurse was last seen on CCTV on 25 October. When her children tried to visit the following day, there was no response when they knocked.

Her family raised concerns on 27 October, and paramedics entered the flat, where they were confronted by Sabat, who was armed with a knife and charged at a paramedic. The London Ambulance Service crew and family members withdrew, and police were called.

Armed officers soon forced entry and used Tasers to detain Sabat. Officers found Ms Nurse lying on a bed with a pillow over her face and multiple stab wounds to her head. 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.

Police recovered a knife with Ms Nurse's blood on it, as well as a bag marked "HMP valuables" and prison records in Sabat's name, from the flat. The court heard that Sabat had convictions dating back to 1987, including for burglary, assault, wounding with intent, knife possession and harassment of an ex-partner.

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

In mitigation, Alisdair Williamson KC said Sabat had lived "on the margins" with spells in jail and had struggled with mental health issues, depression and anxiety. In a victim impact statement, Ms Nurse's sister Samantha Carvalho described Sabat as a "menace to society" and said the "heartlessness" of the killing was "impossible to comprehend." Her mother Claudette McBean described her daughter as kind, loving and the "life and soul of the party."

The case raises significant questions about the balance between prison capacity pressures and public protection. Successive governments have introduced changes to automatic release in an effort to ease overcrowding in prisons, but critics argue such measures can put victims and the public at risk when assessments of dangerousness are inadequate.

Legal commentators note that the sentencing judge ultimately decides the minimum term, but early-release decisions are often administrative and based on fixed proportions of a sentence. In Sabat's case, the gap between his previous convictions, the nature of his latest offences and the speed with which he reoffended after release will likely intensify scrutiny of how risk assessments are carried out before prisoners are freed.

The Metropolitan Police have not commented on whether any review of the release decision will be conducted. The Ministry of Justice has been approached for comment on the implications of the case for the early-release scheme.

For Ms Nurse's family, the sentence brings a measure of legal closure, but they say the loss of a mother, daughter and sister remains devastating. Her children are now left without a parent, and relatives have described the killing as a tragedy that could potentially have been prevented.

The Sentencing Act 2026, which came into force last week, represents the latest phase of the government's approach to automatic release. Under the new framework, some prisoners may be released after serving a third of their sentence, a move ministers argue is necessary to manage the prison estate. Whether that policy will be reassessed in light of this case remains to be seen, but the murder of Dickiesha Nurse has already become a focal point in the ongoing debate over early release and public safety.