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A teenager fatally stabbed a 15-year-old schoolgirl in a fit of “white-hot anger” after a row over her friend’s teddy bear, a court has heard.

Hassan Sentamu, 18, lashed out at Elianne Andam with a kitchen knife in Croydon town centre while he met with his ex-girlfriend and her group, the Old Bailey was told.

Jurors heard that Sentamu plunged his knife into Elianne’s neck after losing his temper at perceived “disrespect”, rather than returning a teddy bear belonging to Elianne’s friend, as part of an item swap.

Sentamu, who was 17-years-old at the time, has admitted manslaughter but denied Elianne’s murder, claiming a “loss of control” because he has autism.

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors: “Having heard the evidence you may feel that the catalyst for this dreadful attack was rather more simple: anger.

“White-hot anger at having been disrespected in public by girls, both by Elianne on the day of the killing and previously.”

The defendant was already armed with the kitchen knife when he took the bus from his home in New Addington, south London, to the Whitgift Centre on the morning of 27 September 2023, jurors heard.

Mr Chalk told jurors: “The purpose of the meeting was to exchange belongings. (The ex-girlfriend) in particular was anxious to recover her teddy bear.”

During the meeting in a car park at the shopping centre, Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stuck with her side of the bargain.

She handed over a plastic bag containing his belongings but the defendant arrived empty-handed, jurors were told.

Mr Chalk said: “Elianne was aggrieved on her friend’s behalf. So, at around 8.30am whilst Hassan was walking outside the Whitgift Centre, Elianne took the plastic bag back.

“It was a gesture of solidarity with (her friend) that cost Elianne her life.

“The defendant chased after her, cornered her and used the kitchen knife to stab her repeatedly.”

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Mr Chalk said that Sentamu had pleaded not guilty to murder on the basis that his responsibility was diminished having been diagnosed with autism in 2020.

He also denies having a blade claiming he had a “lawful reason” for carrying it.

The prosecution acknowledged “with compassion” the challenges posed by autism and the impact “adverse” childhood experiences can have.

But Mr Chalk asserted that neither amounted to an “excuse, justification or defence”.

The trial at the Old Bailey continues.

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Kyle Walker: Manchester City player calls on Instagram and authorities to act after receiving racist abuse

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Kyle Walker: Manchester City player calls on Instagram and authorities to act after receiving racist abuse

England and Manchester City player Kyle Walker has revealed he suffered “vile, racist and threatening” abuse on social media after Wednesday’s game against Juventus.

The 34-year-old defender was part of the team that lost 2-0 in Turin, Italy, in the Champions League.

It comes amid a difficult spell for Man City that has seen them uncharacteristically lose seven of their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Warning: This article contains references to offensive language

Kyle Walker applauds fans after his side's 2-0 loss to Juventus midweek.
Pic: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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Walker applauds fans after City’s loss to Juventus. Pic: Reuters/Guglielmo Mangiapane

The footballer posted a screenshot of a message he received on Instagram from an unnamed user which included a racial slur.

It read: “Bro you can f*** around and die you stupid ass *****”.

In his post, Walker said: “No one should ever be subjected to the sort of vile, racist and threatening abuse I have received online since last night’s match.

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“Instagram and the authorities need to stop this happening for the sake of all who are suffering this abuse.

“It is never acceptable.”

He also shared a second instance of racial abuse he had received online.

In a club statement, Man City strongly condemned the abuse and said: “We refuse to tolerate discrimination of any kind, regardless of whether that be in stadiums or online.

“We will be offering Kyle our full support following the disgusting treatment he has received.”

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Kick It Out, an organisation that works to combat discrimination in football, said Walker had been the subject of “disgraceful abuse” which “again highlights the deep-rooted issue of online hate”.

Sky Sports News reported Kick It Out added in a statement: “With reports of online discrimination to Kick It Out more than doubling last season and platforms failing to act decisively, we stand firmly behind Kyle’s call for social media companies and authorities to do more.”

Meta, the owner of Instagram, has been approached for comment.

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Sara Sharif: Concerns about her care were raised when she was a few days old, new details show

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Sara Sharif: Concerns about her care were raised when she was a few days old, new details show

Concerns about Sara Sharif’s care were first raised when she was less than a week old – and her parents were known to social services three years prior, newly-reportable details show.

The 10-year-old girl was found dead at her family home in Woking, Surrey, in August last year, with her father and stepmother having already fled to Pakistan with Sara’s uncle, her siblings and half-siblings.

Sara’s father Urfan Sharif, 42, and stepmother Beinash Batool, 30, were on Wednesday convicted of her murder, while her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

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Did the system fail Sara?

Previously unreportable details about the family’s contact with social services and the courts can now be published.

They include the fact that concerns about Sara’s care were raised within a week of her birth in 2013 – while her parents Urfan and Olga Sharif had been known to social services as early as 2010.

Surrey County Council repeatedly raised “significant concerns” that the youngster was likely to suffer physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her parents.

While there were three sets of family court proceedings, allegations Urfan was physically abusing Sara and her siblings were never tested in court.

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Despite the council’s concerns and court proceedings, Sara was repeatedly returned to her parents’ care before finally being placed with her father and stepmother in Woking in 2019.

Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik.
Pic: Surrey Police
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(L-R) Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Faisal Malik. Pic: Surrey Police

Four years later, she was murdered in the family home.

The details come as an interview with Sara’s mother Olga has re-emerged. In it, she said her ex-husband once tried to set her on fire and strangled her with a belt.

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At the time of Sara’s death, Olga – who is from Poland – told Polish news channel TVN24: “There was a situation when [Sharif] told me not to go anywhere. I said I was going because my friend was waiting for me. He started to strangle me with a belt then.

“He tried to set me on fire once – he poured oil on me, but my cousin stopped him.”

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Olga, who has returned to using her maiden name Domin, lost custody of Sara to Sharif and Batool four years before her murder.

She said she contacted social services after Batool wrote that she should not visit the children because they “did not want to see me”.

Olga asked social services to provide her with support. “They said that the children did not want to see me, and there was nothing they could do about it. And that all I could do was wait,” she said.

Surrey County Council has said an independently-led safeguarding review of all professionals who had contact with Sara is under way.

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Parents who forced ‘extreme’ vegan diet on toddler and buried his body in garden jailed

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Parents who forced 'extreme' vegan diet on toddler and buried his body in garden jailed

A couple have been jailed for causing or allowing the death of their three-year-old son after forcing him to endure an “extreme” vegan diet.

Abiyah Yasharahyalah died from a respiratory illness while suffering from fractures, severe malnutrition, rickets, anaemia, stunted growth and severe dental decay.

Jurors heard Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah, 42 and 43, kept the boy’s body in their bed for eight days, embalmed him and then buried him in a shallow grave in their garden in early 2020.

He wasn’t found for more than two years.

Pic: West Midlands Police
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Abiyah Yasharahyalah died in 2020 aged three. Pic: West Midlands Police

The jury was told the couple shunned mainstream society in favour of their own “kingdom” in Handsworth, Birmingham, and pushed a restrictive vegan diet.

Prosecutors said it would have been obvious Abiyah was in considerable pain and neither parent could explain why they didn’t get help.

The trial was told instead of contacting NHS the couple tried to treat their son’s final illness with garlic and ginger.

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah. Pics: West Midlands Police
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Pics: West Midlands Police

The couple’s diet largely consisted of nuts, raisins and soya milk and they were both “extremely thin” when they were arrested on 9 December 2022 while living in a caravan in Glastonbury.

Abiyah’s body was finally found five days later.

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The couple denied the charges against them, telling the court they did not act wilfully and believed Abiyah would recover from a flu-like condition.

They were found guilty last week after a two-month trial at Coventry Crown Court. They were convicted of child cruelty and perverting the course of justice, as well as causing or allowing the death of a child.

Tai and Naiyahmi Yasharahyalah were jailed for 24-and-a-half years and 19-and-a-half years respectively.

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