Jessica Baines Interview
JB: Zanna’s body was on her back when police entered the property. Her arms were by her side, her legs straight out. She died there, like that, on her back, after — we believe — being initially pushed and hitting her head against the kitchen counter — hard.
I was not first at the scene, but I was there shortly after, as the most senior officer on call at the time. It was a truly shocking scene. Every scene stays with you, but this one I do remember as harrowing. It looked like any young woman’s dream apartment; to see those dreams snuffed out so violently . . . I was immediately sure we had a big case on our hands, and I was put in charge of said case very quickly. It was important to us, to the Met, to have a woman at the forefront of this case, to handle it sensitively and seriously, given the nature of it. Unfortunately, the Met has had, and did have especially at that time, a bad reputation of failing women in the face of male violence, of failing to take stalking seriously as a crime.
Not only was Zanna’s death itself shocking, such a young woman having lost her life, it was relatively high profile, what with her status as an influencer; someone many young women looked to, idolised, following her day-to-day life on their phones, feeling as though she was almost a friend or member of the family. It was clear how much this was going to shock not only the victim’s family, but many, many people in the UK and internationally. I don’t think it’s going too far to say that at the time it was the biggest case I had ever worked on, and it still is the defining case of my career.
I had to get ahead of the press, and fast. You want to avoid journalists getting to witnesses before you, publishing the elements of your case in the newspapers and online. Not only can the media compromise a trial — and it frequently does — but it’s intrusive and undignified. And besides the press, with a case like this, there are many moving parts to manage. The suspects, the family and friends of the bereaved, even fans, and those God-awful true crime enthusiasts. Nothing can screw a case like an amateur detective. So, as you can imagine, I was anxious to find a resolution as quickly as possible, for the sake of the investigation and Zanna’s dignity in the press.
Time of death was estimated to be between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. This laid out our enquiry parameters. There were a number of suspects, and of course one was far and away the most obvious.