A 21-year-old criminology student is set to be jailed for life when he is sentenced on Friday for the murder of Amie Gray and attempted murder of Leanne Miles on Bournemouth beach.

Nasen Saadi, of Croydon, south London, fatally stabbed the 34-year-old physical trainer and seriously wounded her friend as the pair were enjoying a late-night chat next to a small fire to keep warm at the Dorset seaside resort on May 24 last year.

He is to be sentenced at Winchester Crown Court after the judge, Mrs Justice Cutts, ordered sentencing reports on Saadi when he was found guilty following a trial in December.

Home Office pathologist Dr Basil Purdue told the trial that Ms Gray died as a result of 10 knife wounds including one to the heart while Ms Miles suffered 20 knife injuries.

The defendant, who had been studying criminology and criminal psychology at the University of Greenwich, had researched locations to carry out the killing and had even asked his course lecturers questions on how to get away with murder.

The trial heard that Saadi was “fascinated” with knives and had bought six blades from websites, with several found at his aunt’s house where he was living as well as at his parents’ home.

Saadi used the name “Ninja Killer” for his Snapchat account and also used the username “NSkills” on his computer.

Saadi, who had dropped out out of a physical education course, had carried out searches about the Milly Dowler and Brianna Ghey killings.

Amie will never be forgotten. She touched the lives of so many. The immense support and love shown by everyone, reflects just that

Lecturer Dr Lisa-Maria Reiss told the court Saadi had asked questions on “how to get away with murder”, which had led her to ask him: “You’re not planning a murder are you?”

It can now be reported that Saadi touched himself while in his prison cell ahead of the trial after he asked a female prison officer how much publicity the case was getting.

The court was told Saadi had booked two hotels for a four-night stay in Bournemouth starting May 21 and was shown on CCTV carrying out “reccies” of the seafront and the scene of the murder, which happened at about 11.40pm on May 24.

During his stay at the Dorset resort, the defendant, who is a fan of horror movies, went to the cinema to see “slasher” movie The Strangers – Chapter 1.

Suggesting a motive for the attack, Ms Jones said: “This defendant seems to have wanted to know what it would be like to take life, perhaps he wanted to know what it would be like to make women feel afraid, perhaps he thought it would make him feel powerful, make him interesting to others.

“Perhaps he just couldn’t bear to see people engaged in a happy, normal social interaction and he decided to lash out, to hurt, to butcher.”

In a statement released after the trial, Sian Gray said: “Amie will never be forgotten. She touched the lives of so many. The immense support and love shown by everyone, reflects just that.

“Amie’s life has been brutally taken but now she can rest in peace. Her strength lives on in all of us.”

The defendant, who chose not to give evidence, always denied carrying out the attacks saying it was a case of mistaken identity and adding that he must have “blacked out” when they happened.

He is also to be sentenced for failing to provide his mobile phone pin code to police.