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The family of Elianne Andam has said “our hearts are broken” after she was stabbed to death near a bus stop on her way to school.

The 15-year-old was stabbed in the neck with a foot-long knife near the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon, south London, during the morning rush hour, a witness said.

A 17-year-old boy, who knew the victim, was arrested just over an hour after the attack which took place on busy Wellesley Road at around 8.30am on Wednesday.

Elianne’s family said in a statement: “Our hearts are broken by the senseless death of our daughter.

“Elianne was the light of our lives. She was bright and funny, with many friends who all adored her.

“She was only 15, and had her whole life ahead of her, with hopes and dreams for the future.

“All those dreams have now been shattered. Our lives have fallen apart, along with that of our wider family.

“We ask the media to please respect our privacy as we try to grieve the short life of our beautiful child.”

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Elianne Andam
Pic:Met Police
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Elianne Andam. Pic:Met Police

Elianne Andam 
Pic:Met Police
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Elianne Andam. Pic:Met Police

Detectives have recovered CCTV footage from the area and spoken to witnesses, while forensic scientists have examined the scene and a postmortem is taking place on Thursday afternoon.

Police said officers were confident Elianne, who attended the Old Palace of John Whitgift School, was attacked near the bus stop in Wellesley Road and are trying to establish her exact relationship with her alleged attacker.

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Woodsford, who is leading the investigation, said: “My thoughts and the thoughts of my team are with Elianne’s family. This is a deeply upsetting time for them and we will do everything we can to support them.”

Elianne was pronounced dead at the scene at around 9.20am, while the suspect, who was held in nearby New Addington, remains in custody. Police have been given an extra 12 hours to question him.

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‘Every parent’s worst nightmare’

DCI Woodsford said: “We know many people were in the area at the time and would have witnessed the attack. This would have been distressing and traumatic and I would encourage anyone who needs support to contact us and we will help to arrange this.

“I know that Elianne’s death has left many people feeling upset and I would like to thank the people of Croydon for the support they have shown us as we have carried out our inquiries in the town centre. I know this work has been disruptive, however it has been vital and your patience is appreciated.”

Police officers lay flowers at the scene in Croydon where 15-year-old Elianne Andam was stabbed to death
Police officers lay flowers at the scene in Croydon where 15-year-old Elianne Andam was stabbed to death

Tributes have poured in for Elianne, with dozens of bunches of flowers, cards and candles left at the scene, while a large police cordon remains in place.

Officers who were among the first at the scene and battled to try to save her appeared visibly moved as they laid flowers on Thursday.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “I have spent the morning in Croydon meeting local residents, youth workers, community leaders, police officers and others.

“That is a community shocked, traumatised and heartbroken. I’m sure I speak for everyone when I say our thoughts are with her family and friends.”

Adama Dumbuya, 30, a family friend of the girl, said: “It’s just really sad. She was such a lovely little girl. I’m a parent myself.

“She was just really lovely the few times I’ve met her. She’s just a very nice girl and very polite.”

Flowers at the scene  as forensic investigators  work the scene in Croydon
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Flowers at the scene as forensic investigators work the scene in Croydon

Anthony King, chairman of My Ends – a project helping combat youth violence in Croydon – said the boy had been known to local community groups for the past couple of years.

Mr King was with the girl’s family after the incident and said they were “heartbroken”.

He added: “She had a bright future ahead of her. She was in her GCSE year.”

Mr King described the girl as an “absolutely incredible young lady” and told of how others said she was “jovial, very comedic”.

One of the cards, left near the site of the attack, read: “Sorry we live in this crazy world. This makes no sense.

“Fly high up there, my mummy will look after you. RIP beautiful, forever young, taken too soon.

“Thoughts and prayers are with your family and friends, God bless.”

A woman lays flowers near the scene in Croydon, south London, where a 15-year-old girl was stabbed to death on Wednesday morning. Picture date: Thursday September 28, 2023.
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A woman lays flowers near the scene in Croydon

‘The blood was coming like water’

A bus driver and a passer-by were seen desperately trying to save Elianne before emergency services arrived, with police at the scene within two minutes.

Victor Asare, 50, told how he saw a boy stab her in the neck with a knife which was “black, thin and about a foot long”.

“The boy wore a black blazer, the girl wore green. It looked like the girl didn’t want the boy to come closer,” said the security worker. “The blood was coming like water.”

He said the boy ran away and “everybody was crying and screaming”, adding: “The girl was on the floor.

“We tried to catch him and a lot of people tried to save the girl. I was so shocked, I was shaken. It’s somebody’s daughter.”

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Croydon stabbing: ‘Girl’s friends were screaming’

A mother of two, who wanted to be named only as Bridget, said: “I was on the bus before and came off and walked back down, I saw them resuscitating her.

“The driver was holding her, and a lady. The emergency services were already here when I walked back.”

She said two other schoolgirls, believed to be the victim’s friends, were trying to get through the police cordon but were held back.

The Old Palace of John Whitgift School has said in a statement: “We are deeply shocked by the senseless and tragic death of our much-loved and valued friend and pupil.

“It will take some time for the Old Palace community to come to terms with this terrible news, and we will offer support to our pupils as we try to do so.

“Above all, we send our love and deepest sympathies to the girl’s family at this unimaginably distressing time.”

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Child sexual exploitation victims ‘not in scope’ of violence against women and girls strategy

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Child sexual exploitation victims 'not in scope' of violence against women and girls strategy

Victims of child sexual exploitation are “not explicitly within the scope” of the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy being drafted by the government, Sky News can reveal.

Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSEA) is a form of child abuse, described by police as a “critical threat” to women and girls.

It includes crimes such as grooming, and can involve both physical contact, such as rape, or non-physical – like forcing children to look at sexual images.

Sky News has been shown an internal Home Office document presented to various stakeholders in the sector.

Screenshot detailing strategy
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Screenshot detailing strategy

It’s titled “Scope of the Strategy… Our draft definition of VAWG”, and says that while it recognises “links” between VAWG and child sexual exploitation, it is not “explicitly within the scope of the strategy”.

“VAWG is Violence Against Women and Girls. If you take child sexual abuse out of it, where are the girls?” Poppy Eyre told Sky News.

Poppy was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four.

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It wasn’t until she was 11, after a PHSE lesson on abuse at school, that she understood the enormity of what had happened.

“I remember very vividly when the police came round and told me… this is what we’re charging him with,” said Poppy.

“We’re charging him with sexual abuse and rape. And I remember being like, I had no idea that’s what it was, but I know that’s really bad.”

Poppy Eyre was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four
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Poppy Eyre was sexually abused and raped by her grandfather when she was four

Poppy’s grandfather was convicted and died in prison.

She questions how authorities would police crime if child sexual abuse is excluded from an umbrella strategy to tackle violence against women and girls.

“Are they holding child sexual abuse at the same level of importance as they are with violence against women? You’d hope so, but potentially not, because it doesn’t need to be in the figures”, she said.

'Are they holding child sexual abuse at the same level of importance?' asks Poppy
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‘Are they holding child sexual abuse at the same level of importance?’ asks Poppy

The government has pledged to halve VAWG within a decade, by 2035.

“If the government are measuring themselves against halving violence against women and girls – if they’re not looking at the scale of child sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation within that – that will mean we are failing many young victims of abuse,” said Andrea Simon, director of campaign group End Violence Against Women.

The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which is funded by the Home Office, estimates 500,000 children in England and Wales are sexually abused every year.

‘Danger’ of having separate plan

Rape Crisis told Sky News that “for any strategy to be effective” it “must include all forms of gender-based violence against all women and girls”, suggesting there is a “danger” in having a separate plan for child sexual abuse.

Its chief executive, Ciara Bergman, said it could create a “problematic and potentially very unhelpful” distinction between victims of domestic abuse, expected to be covered by the strategy, and child sexual abuse.

“Some perpetrators of domestic abuse also sexually abuse their children,” she told Sky News.

The government insists the strategy will include action to tackle child sexual abuse, but says it also plans to create a distinctive programme to address its specific crimes.

Poppy's mother Miranda Eyre says she's 'speechless' and 'angry' over the government's approach
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Poppy’s mother Miranda Eyre says she’s ‘speechless’ and ‘angry’ over the government’s approach

“Sexual abuse is violence against a child,” said Poppy’s mother, Miranda Eyre, who now works as a counsellor specialising in trauma.

“It is violence against girls… and you can’t separate it out,” she said. “I’m speechless to be honest… it does make me quite angry.”

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A Home Office spokesperson told Sky News it is “working tirelessly to tackle the scourges of violence against women and girls and child sexual abuse”.

“These issues are complex and run deep within the fabric of society,” they added.

“The government wholly recognises that they overlap. But it also recognises that concerted action is needed to tackle child sexual abuse which is why we have set out a range of actions… and why we are launching a national inquiry into grooming gangs.”

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British veteran, 100, recalls witnessing Japan’s Second World War surrender on USS Missouri

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British veteran, 100, recalls witnessing Japan's Second World War surrender on USS Missouri

A British veteran has spoken about how he witnessed Japan’s wartime surrender up close as a 20-year-old sailor.

Reg Draper was off Japan’s coast on the HMS Duke of York when the captain announced the war was ending.

Recalling that moment – 80 years ago today – he said cheers went up from the battleship’s crew.

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Why is it important to mark VJ Day?

Mr Draper saw the Japanese sign the agreement on USS Missouri when he went on board to help his friend, who was the ship’s photographer.

“All the ships mustered in Tokyo Bay with the USS Missouri, which was the American ship, and it was on the Missouri where they signed the peace treaty,” the 100-year-old recalled.

“Then we all came back down to Australia and we went and celebrated – we went down to Tasmania and everybody had four days leave in Hobart.

“Everybody wanted to take us to their home and there were a couple of dances in the dance hall.”

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Mr Draper still has a photo showing the peace deal being signed. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA
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Mr Draper still has a photo showing the peace deal being signed. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA

Mr Draper got a letter recognising his presence at the surrender. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA
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Mr Draper got a letter recognising his presence at the surrender. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA

Mr Draper, who grew up in Leeds, was a stores assistant on the Duke of York after volunteering on his 18th birthday.

His duties included rationing out the rum so all the sailors could get their 11am hit. He said senior crew got theirs neat while everyone else had theirs watered down.

He also recalled being clattered by Prince Philip after the Queen’s future husband, who was on a destroyer escorting his ship, came aboard.

A view looking out over the HMS Duke of York. Pic: AP
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A view looking out over the HMS Duke of York. Pic: AP

Mr Draper met Prince Philip again in the 70s - but the hockey wasn't mentioned. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA
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Mr Draper met Prince Philip again in the 70s – but the hockey wasn’t mentioned. Pic: Royal British Legion/PA

“We used to have deck hockey on the quarter deck and it was murder playing deck hockey,” said Mr Draper.

“He [Philip] knocked me over once and then the next time he came round he hit me, there’s still a mark there, he gave me a clout with his hockey stick.

“He came to see me just to see how I was. They just put a stitch in and it was alright.”

The pair met again in 1972 when Mr Draper was training sea cadets for the Duke of Edinburgh awards.

He said Philip noticed his medals and recalled escorting the ship – but didn’t mention the hockey game.

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Hiroshima survivor describes moment of blast

Mr Draper’s time on the Duke of York included Arctic convoys to deliver supplies to Russia and sailing to Sydney, Australia, in 1945 before joining the East Indies Fleet.

“We started going up to the islands, kicking the Japanese out of the islands as we went,” he recalled.

Japan surrendered after the US dropped two nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on 6 and 9 August.

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Mr Draper now lives in Elton in Cheshire. Pic: PA
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Mr Draper now lives in Elton in Cheshire. Pic: PA

Mr Draper turned 21 on the trip back to Europe and said 2,000 people were on board as they had picked up prisoners of war.

He went on to become an insurance salesman and said he’s planning to watch today’s 80th anniversary commemorations from his home in Elton, Cheshire.

The King released an audio message in which he said the sacrifices of VJ Day veterans should “never be forgotten”.

He described how the heroic actions of those sent to fight in the Far East, as well as the brutal treatment of civilians, “reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life”.

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King to warn that sacrifices of VJ Day veterans should ‘never be forgotten’

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King to warn that sacrifices of VJ Day veterans should 'never be forgotten'

The King will issue a warning that the sacrifices of the VJ Day veterans should “never be forgotten” as they “gave us more than freedom; they left us the example of how it can and must be protected”.

In an audio message, due to be released on Friday morning to mark 80 years since the end of the Second World War in the Far East, King Charles will describe how the heroic actions of those sent to fight there and the brutal treatment of civilians “reminds us that war’s true cost extends beyond battlefields, touching every aspect of life”.

In what could be interpreted as him alluding to current world events and conflicts, he will emphasise the importance of international collaboration, saying that victory in 1945 demonstrated that “in times of war and in times of peace, the greatest weapons of all are not the arms you bear but the arms you link”.

Pic: PA
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Pic: PA

The six-minute audio message to the Nation, Realms and Commonwealth to mark VJ Day, echoes the audio broadcast made by his grandfather, King George VI, which the King will reference.

He recorded it in the Morning Room at Clarence House earlier this month.

Victory over Japan (VJ Day) was declared on 15 August 1945, following Imperial Japan’s surrender to Allied Forces.

With Victory in Europe (VE Day) declared in May 1945, some have felt that historically VJ Day has been overlooked, undervaluing the sacrifices of those who continued to fight on for another three months.

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In his message, the King will say that the service and sacrifice of those who fought and died in the Pacific and Far East “shall never be forgotten”.

He will also refer to the experience endured by prisoners of war and to the innocent civilians of occupied lands in the region.

Read more:
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King Charles and Queen Camilla will also publicly mark the anniversary by attending a national service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

The service, run in partnership with the Royal British Legion, will be attended by Burma Star recipients, a veteran of the British Indian Army and those involved in the Battles of Kohima and Imphal.

Prisoners of war held across the region and veterans stationed in the UK or Commonwealth countries who contributed to the war effort will also attend. A two-minute national silence will be held at midday.

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