Elianne Andam: Teenager who stabbed 15-year-old to death in Croydon guilty of murder
The teenager who stabbed 15-year-old Elianne Andam to death in a row over a teddy bear has been found guilty of murder.
Hassan Sentamu, 18, attacked Elianne with a kitchen knife in “white-hot anger at having been disrespected” after she stood up for his ex-girlfriend, the Old Bailey heard.
He had been due to return items including a teddy bear to Elianne’s friend following their break-up but instead came armed, wearing two pairs of gloves and a facemask.
Elianne collapsed outside the Whitgift Centre in central Croydon, south London, after being stabbed four times in what police described as a “frenzied” attack, which was caught on CCTV, on 27 September 2023.
Sentamu was arrested within 90 minutes. Pic: Met Police
Her friend compared Sentamu to a character from the Netflix crime drama Top Boy and said Elianne had her hand out begging him to “stop”.
He threw his gloves and mask in a bin and hid the knife in a garden but was arrested within 90 minutes after police stopped a bus near his home in New Addington.
Sentamu, who was 17 at the time, admitted manslaughter but denied murder on the basis of “loss of control” because he has autism.
There were sobs in the public as he was found guilty by a majority verdict of 10 to two, while he stood propping himself up with both arms in the dock and crying.
He was also found guilty on a charge of having a blade. Sentamu had also denied this charge – claiming he had a lawful reason for carrying it.
Grime artist Stormzy was among thousands of mourners who gathered at a candlelit vigil after Elianne – who went to the private Old Palace of John Whitgift School – was killed, and there is now a memorial to her at the scene.
Stormzy among mourners. Pic: PA
‘I’ll do it again’
The month after Elianne’s death, Sentamu got into a row with a fellow inmate in youth custody and when he was accused of killing girls, said: “I’ll do it again,” the court heard.
“I’ll do it to your mum,” he said. “Do you want to end up like her, six feet under? I’ll do the same again.”
Sentamu, who came to the UK aged five with his mother and three sisters, had a history of violent and aggressive behaviour, as well as making repeated threats to take his own life.
He was given a police caution after pulling a knife out in class and telling a teacher he wanted to kill himself when he was just 12 years old.
Sentamu was expelled from one school after threatening another child with a knife and in other incidents put girls in headlocks and threatened to stab a student with a pair of scissors.
While in foster care he threatened to harm a cat or chop off its tail, the court heard.
Elianne with her friends. Pic: Met Police/PA
‘I can’t let this slide’
Weeks before he killed Elianne, who wanted to become a human rights lawyer, Sentamu said: “The real me is evil, dark and miserable” in a message to a friend.
The day before the attack, he had met Elianne and her friend, who had recently split up with him, at the Whitgift Centre, where the girls “teased” him and his ex-girlfriend splashed him with water.
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Attack caught on CCTV
Sentamu, who was studying sports science at Croydon College, later sent what police called a “chilling” message to a friend saying: “I can’t let this slide bro.”
He met Elianne, his ex-girlfriend and another of their friends the following day to swap belongings.
The girl handed him a plastic bag of his clothes, but he did not have her teddy bear as arranged, and Eliane snatched the bag back.
Pics: Met Police
Sentamu stabbed Elianne with a kitchen knife. Pic: Met Police/PA
A Snapchat video shows Elianne smiling and laughing before her expression turned to “abject terror,” jurors were told.
Sentamu pulled the kitchen knife from his trousers and repeatedly stabbed her, plunging the blade 12cm into her neck.
‘He exacted vengeance on a girl running away’
Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC earlier told jurors Sentamu was “angry… having brooded on the insult and he took the knife to the scene to reassert dominance”.
“He exacted vengeance on a young girl clearly running away from him and posing no threat,” he said.
Sentamu, who was diagnosed with autism in 2020, did not give evidence.
His barrister Pavlos Panayi KC said it was not disputed the killing was a “grotesque overreaction” but the “central issue” in the case was Sentamu’s autism history and symptoms.
Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Becky Woodsford said it was a “violent, aggressive and frenzied knife attack on a young girl”.
“Elianne was doing what was right, she was standing up for her friend,” she added.
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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