The trial at the Central Criminal Court for the murder of 14-year-old schoolgirl resumed with evidence from expert witnesses
Moment of arrest: Hassan Sentamu denies murder, claiming diminished responsibility
Psychiatric experts gave evidence at an Old Bailey trial yesterday that Hassan Sentamu, the teenager accused of murdering Elianne Andam outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon in September 2023, “exacted vengeance” when he stabbed the schoolgirl repeatedly.
Another expert witness confirmed to the jury that Sentamu, now 18, had autism which had a significant impact on his ability to regulate emotions, including anger.
Sentamu has pleaded not guilty to murder on grounds of diminished responsibility due to his autism. He has also pleaded not guilty to carrying a bladed weapon.
“There’s lots of evidence it’s been a pervasive problem causing difficulties at home and currently. And some of those incidents have been quite serious,” Dr Sinead Marriot, a clinical psychologist at Great Ormond Street Hospital, told the court.
Dr Marriot had interviewed Sentamu following his arrest. “As a person with autism, these social situations, managing social interactions, is particularly difficult for him,” she told the court.
Expert witness: Dr Sinead Marriot
“Romantic relationships and negotiating break-downs is difficult for any adolescent. Being teased or bullied is difficult for anyone, especially for people with that history.”
Questioned by Pavlos Panayi KC for the defence, Dr Marriott said Sentamu had a full range of symptoms associated with autism spectrum disorder, a very low IQ and “significant difficulty with managing anger”.
Andam was stabbed to death near a Wellesley Road bus stop after grabbing a plastic bag from Sentamu in a “gesture of solidarity” with her friend, whose teddy bear Sentamu failed to bring to a post-breakup item exchange.
Sentamu was arrested 90 minutes later near his home in Rowdown Crescent, New Addington, after fleeing the scene, disposing of the knife, his face mask and gloves.
The trial was adjourned over Christmas, the jury having already seen CCTV evidence and heard from those who were first at the scene, as well as hearing police interview evidence and pre-recorded cross examinations with key witnesses.
On Monday the trial heard evidence from Professor Nigel Blackwood, professor of forensic psychiatry at Kings College, who assessed Sentamu after he was arrested.
He said Sentamu had told him that he had felt “offended, insulted, belittled and disrespected” by an incident the day before the attack, where 15-year-old Andam and her friends, including the girl he had recently broken up with, had teased him and squirted water over him.
Expert witness: Prof Nigel Blackwood
Prof Blackwood said Mr Sentamu had brooded on the incident and, in his view, had then made a “terrible decision” to carry a knife to the meeting with the girls the next day.
Questioned by prosecutor Alex Chalk KC, Prof Blackwood said the way Sentamu escaped from the Croydon scene, disposed of his clothing and contacted a friend following the killing suggested he was “entirely aware of what he’s done”.
In the witness box of the Old Bailey’s Court 15, Prof Blackwood said, “He was angered he had done nothing to challenge them. He felt weak. He then made the terrible decision, in my view, to carry a knife to reassert dominance, to exact revenge.
“In my view he exacted vengeance. He stabbed the victim on four occassions when she ran away from him.”
Asked if Sentamu knew the nature of actions and that what he was doing was wrong, Prof Blackwood said, “Yes he did.”
Asked if Sentamu’s autism diagnosis meant that a defence of diminished responsibility applied in this case, Prof Blackwood said, “No, it does not.”
The trial continues.
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Read more: Croydon in 2023: London’s borough with most murder victims
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