Hainault murder trial shown CCTV of fatal attack

A man accused of murdering a teenage boy during a samurai sword rampage in north-east London "looked a bit mad, like there was nothing there", a witness has told a jury.

Marcus Monzo, 37, is accused of murdering 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin and attempting to kill four others during a 20-minute series of attacks in Hainault in April last year.

He denies all charges.

Jurors at the Old Bailey were shown CCTV and phone footage of Mr Monzo appearing to stand over Daniel shortly after the fatal attack, holding the schoolboy's backpack in one hand.

Footage from a nearby property appeared to show part of Mr Monzo's body as he struck Daniel, but the full encounter was obscured by a house.

Another woman could be heard in mobile phone footage saying: "He just killed that boy," as Daniel lay on the floor.

The trial was briefly suspended when a distressed juror left the courtroom.

Earlier, the court heard from a man who was injured in the attack, who said the defendant "smiled" after slashing him in the neck.

The alleged attacks began with a grey van mounting the pavement and hitting Donato Iwule, which was also captured on CCTV.

Mr Monzo is then seen exiting the vehicle and walking after Mr Iwule while brandishing a sword.

Mr Iwule told the court he tried to escape into a nearby garden but was struck on his knee, face and shoulder and knocked to the ground.

He said Mr Monzo pulled a sword from a cover and said "I'm going to kill you".

"I saw blood coming out of my neck," he said.

"I pressed my thumb to not bleed out… I shouted 'God is greatest' in Arabic – because I'm Muslim.

"When that happened, he was smiling like it was something that he was happy about."

Another witness, Nathan Hutchinson, told jurors he saw Mr Monzo emerge from bushes holding a sword with both hands.

"He looked a bit mad, like there was nothing there – his eyes were black.

"He was muttering some words like: 'You are going to die.'"

Mr Hutchinson said the weapon was held "upright in a way to strike".

Mr Monzo, whose van was smoking, then called the fire brigade.

In the 999 recording played to jurors, he told the operator: "My van is on fire."

He later told the operator: "It's not on fire actually… I require support. Do you believe in God?

"I need to save somebody… I trust the fire brigade more than the police."

After the call ended, passer-by Aiste Dabansinskaite said Mr Monzo drew a sword from behind his back and she saw her neighbour Daniel walking towards her, with Mr Monzo following close behind.

"I saw the man following Daniel and then he struck him – with his sword, with his right hand, in a downwards motion.

"Daniel fell to the floor."

"I saw the man stab the sword into Daniel's back."

She said that when police arrived, Mr Monzo was "waving the sword about" and prevented officers from reaching Daniel.

Last week jurors heard how Mr Monzo had skinned and deboned his own cat before carrying out the alleged attacks, and was under the influence of cannabis at the time.

However, the prosecution argued the psychotic state was self-induced and did not meet the threshold for diminished responsibility.

Mr Monzo has admitted possessing two swords but denies murder, attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.

The trial continues.

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