Elianne Andam attacker had no mercy, court hears

A teenage boy who killed schoolgirl Elianne Andam "had no mercy" as he stabbed her at least 10 times, the Old Bailey has been told.

Hassan Sentamu, then 17, attacked the 15-year-old outside a shopping centre in Croydon, south London, after refusing to hand back a teddy bear belonging to Elianne's friend, with whom he had split up 10 days before.

When Elianne grabbed a bag of his clothes in solidarity with her friend, Mr Sentamu chased after her, produced a knife and repeatedly stabbed her, the court heard.

Mr Sentamu, now 18, admits manslaughter but denies murder on the basis his responsibility was diminished due to his autism.

In a police interview that was played in court, one of Elianne's other friends said Mr Sentamu had arrived on the morning of 27 September 2023 to meet the girls, wearing gloves and a disposable black mask.

She said Elianne had been laughing and smiling when she grabbed the bag from him before she was attacked.

"I saw him punching her, and then I realised he's stabbing her," she said.

Elianne's friend said she shouted: "Oh my God, he's got a knife." Describing the attack, the friend said Mr Sentamu "had no mercy".

None of the young witnesses can be named because of their age.

Earlier, the jury was played video evidence of Mr Sentamu's ex-girlfriend being cross-examined by Pavlos Panayi KC for the defence.

She agreed that Mr Sentamu had been "loving" and "kind" as a boyfriend, but that he had lost his temper, and sworn at her in messages, and this had left her feeling "hurt" and "very mad".

He had sent his ex-girlfriend messages over Skype, telling her "ur energy is dead I'm not ready for a relationship".

She said she remembered Elianne and her friends telling her that she was "too nice", and she "shouldn't let him speak to her like that".

The court was shown CCTV footage and a Snapchat video of a group of girls, including Elianne and Mr Sentamu's ex-girlfriend, meeting him and one of his friends at the Whitgift Centre in Croydon the day before the attack.

Mr Sentamu's ex-girlfriend said she had wanted an apology from him and that the mood between her friends and the defendant had been "agitated", and they had teased him over his appearance, before throwing water over him.

But she denied hearing anyone threaten him.

Asked if she had overheard her friends threaten to throw acid over him, or go to his house, she said she had not.

She said that in the moment before Elianne grabbed the bag, Mr Sentamu had not appeared to be scared and instead seemed "very unbothered".

Mr Sentamu, who was studying sports science at Croydon College, also denies a charge of illegal possession of a knife, claiming he had a "lawful reason" to be carrying it.

The trial continues.

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