The jury in the Old Bailey trial, by a majority verdict, this afternoon found New Addington teenager Hassan Sentamu guilty of the murder of 15-year-old schoolgirl Elianne Andam.
Murdered in the street: Elianne Andam
The jury had been deliberating its verdict since Tuesday afternoon, and earlier today the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Gibb, had directed them that they could give a majority verdict on which at least 10 of the 12 were agreed.
Hassan Sentamu, 18, attacked Elianne with a large knife in “white-hot anger at having been disrespected” after she stood up for his ex-girlfriend, Court 15 at the Central Criminal Court had been told in the trial, which had begun before Christmas.
It was on the morning of September 27, 2023, when Sentamu chased and stabbed Andam repeatedly in a “frenzied” attack, which was caught on CCTV and seen by dozens of horrified passers-by and bus passengers.
Andam was stabbed 10 times, including fatally through the neck.
Sentamu had opted against taking the witness stand to give evidence in his defence, or to be cross-examined. He claimed in his defence that his autism spectrum disorder had caused him to lose control during the meeting to exchange belongings with his ex-girlfriend, who was Andam’s friend.
He admitted manslaughter, but denied murder on the basis of diminished responsibility.
Prosecuting barrister Alex Chalk KC had told the court during his closing speech earlier this week: “He exacted vengeance on a young girl clearly running away from him and posing no threat.”
Guilty: Hassan Sentamu
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.
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.”
At the time of her murder, Andam was in the school uniform of Old Palace School, where she had intended to go after the meeting which had been arranged at the shopping centre to retrieve the belongings of her friend, who had recently split up as Sentamu’s girlfriend.
When Sentamu refused to return the friend’s possessions, including a teddy bear, Andam snatched the bag containing his clothes and belongings. It was then that Sentamu chased after her and wielded the knife.
Murder scene: aerial shots of the Whitgift Centre bus stop on Wellesley Road show the Met Police’s incident tent on the day in September 2023 when Elianne Andam was killed
Her friend said Andam had her hand out begging him to stop.
After the attack, CCTV showed Sentamu running away, the knife in his hand. The Metropolitan Police say that trawled through 45 hours of CCTV footage as part of their investigation.
It was from this that they were able to track his route after the murder.
Sentamu headed along George Street towards East Croydon Station and on to Cedar Road, where he was seen to dump the knife in the front garden of a random property. He threw away the gloves and his mask.
He took his usual route home, catching a 130 bus before changing to a 64. As he got off the bus at Goldcrest Way in New Addington, he was spotted by a local police officer who asked him his name. Sentamu said “John”. The officer was suspicious, seeing what he thought might be blood stains, and he immediately arrested the murder suspect.
It was less than 90minutes since the knife attack on Elianne Andam.
At his trial, Sentamu denied a charge of having a blade, claiming he had a lawful reason for carrying it.
United in grief: the community came together for a few brief hours in a vigil for Elianne Andam in October 2023
The murder trial had heard that in the month after Andam’s death, Sentamu had got into a row with a fellow inmate in youth custody. When he was accused of killing girls, he said: “I’ll do it again.”
The court heard that Sentamu had threatened the other inmate: “I’ll do it to your mum.
“Do you want to end up like her, six feet under? I’ll do the same again.”
Sentamu had arrived in Britain when aged five, with his mother and three sisters. The court heard how he had a troubled childhood, as well as a history of violent and aggressive behaviour, including making repeated threats to take his own life.
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 pupil with a pair of scissors.
While in foster care he threatened to harm a cat or chop off its tail, the court heard.
Weeks before he killed Andam, Sentamu sent a message to a friend which said: “The real me is evil, dark and miserable.”
The day before the attack, he had met Andam and her friend at the Whitgift Centre, where the girls “teased” him and his ex-girlfriend splashed him with water.
Sentamu sent what the prosecution called “the most chilling” message to a friend saying: “I can’t let this slide, bro.”
Majority direction: after almost two days of deliberations, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told the jury that they could reach a verdict if 10 agreed
The following day, he travelled to the next meeting, arranged to exchange possessions, but carrying a large knife he had taken from the kitchen at home.
He met Elianne, his ex-girlfriend and another of their friends. The girl handed him a plastic bag of his clothes, but he did not have her teddy bear as arranged. It was then that Andam snatched back the bag.
The trial judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, will sentence Sentamu on March 13.
Read more: Elianne’s death left ‘a void in our lives that can never be filled’
Read more: ‘Our failure can be read on the headstones of dead youth’
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I really hope he will not come out of prison system
Get punishment he deserves for killing. If he get less
Than life imprisonment than they is no law and order
In Britain. Every day we here stabbing shootings murder
In London Streets. God blessed her and family.
Boys are afraid of girls laughing at them. Girls are afraid of boys killing them. How true. How sad.