Murder victim: 15-year-old Elianne Andam
Hassan Sentamu opted against taking the witness stand to give evidence in his defence, or be cross-examined, in his trial at the Old Bailey for the murder of Croydon schoolgirl Elianne Andam, as lawyers made their closing statements yesterday.
Evidence presented on behalf of Sentamu, now 18, claimed that his autism spectrum disorder caused him to lose control during the meeting to exchange belongings with his ex-girlfriend, who was Andam’s friend.
He has admitted manslaughter, but denies murder on the basis of diminished responsibility.
Prosecuting barrister Alex Chalk KC told the court yesterday: “He exacted vengeance on a young girl clearly running away from him and posing no threat.”
The defence had built its case on “flimsy foundations”, Chalk said. There was no evidence that autism caused Sentamu to lash out in “frenzied murderous violence”.
Chalk said: “We for the prosecution acknowledge with compassion that Hassan Sentamu has on any view had a difficult and disrupted childhood.” But he added that Sentamu’s background could not be used as an “excuse” for the murder of the “defenceless” victim.
Earlier in the week, the trial heard evidence from a series of expert witnesses, including a professor of forensic psychiatry at Kings College London, Professor Nigel Blackwood.
Prof Blackwood had told the court that Sentamu had “exacted vengeance” against Andam.
When asked if autism prevented Sentamu from knowing what he was doing was wrong, the professor said, “No.”
The day before Andam was killed, Sentamu had met a group of girls, including his victim and his ex-girlfriend, who teased him and threw water over him.
Prosecutor: Alex Chalk KC
On the behaviour of the girls at the Whitgift Centre, prosecutor Chalk said: “There was an element of them enjoying the drama of it all.”
But instead of sharing concerns about his being attacked, Chalk says Sentamu messaged a friend about being made to look a “fool” and a “dickhead” in front of the girls.
In that message, Sentamu used what the prosecutor described as “The most chilling words in this trial: ‘I can’t let this slide bro’.”
Sentamu’s friend had messaged back: “This is your life. Don’t mess the chances in your life. Don’t do anything dumb.”
And Sentamu’s claim of being threatened was, Chalk told the jury, “a complete load of nonsense”.
He said: “As Professor Blackwood said, any suggestion of threat is difficult to square with a girl running away from him.”
After the attack, Chalk described Sentamu’s actions: “He runs. He makes the calm controlled and purposeful decision to discard his gloves… toggle his No Caller ID… to get rid of the knife… and he texts [a friend] to say he’s not going to make it.”
“The truth is Hassan Sentamu has life-course interpersonal aggression. In plain English he’s prone to flaring up easily. Sometimes verbally. Sometimes physically. He was angry having brooded on the insult, he took the knife to the scene to reassert dominance.
“Though he was triggered by Elianne grabbing the bag, it was his decision and his decision alone.
“As Professor Blackwood put it: ‘He exacted vengeance on a young girl running away from him’.
Defence: Pavlos Panayi KC
“What is so chilling, is we know from Dr Marriot as Elianne was realising the full horror of what was happening to her. As her smiles turned to terror, Hassan knew exactly what she was feeling as he could understand that face.”
Chalk finished by telling the court that there is not “a shred of evidence that autism causes explosive violence” as he asked the jurors to reach a guilty verdict.
Defence barrister Pavlos Panayi KC said there were “two sides of the coin”, suggesting that a “central issue” in the case was Sentamu’s autism and symptoms.
After describing the water-throwing incident, Panayi said it did not justify the “grotesque overreaction” that came the next day.
He said: “Hassan’s actions are not disputed. As terrible as they are. Your role is not to look at what happened, it’s why it happened in some key, well-defined respects…
“You may think he’s in a much much worse position to deal with the traits he has,” the barrister says.
“The incidents that provoke are quite trifling. The response is quite extreme.”
Panayi said that the point Elianne Andam snatched the bag containing her friend’s teddy bear is “critical” as it was the moment Hassan Sentamu “snapped”.
In a Skype conversation before the fateful meeting, Andam and Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend had described him as “fucking ugly” and an “ugly yute”.
“This was at least nasty bullying,” the defence barrister told the court.
Panayi then told jurors he will finish his closing speech on Monday by addressing the issue of premeditation.
The trial continues.
Read more: ‘Our failure can be read on the headstones of dead youth’
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