Before she was tragically stabbed in the neck, a 15-year-old schoolgirl took to social media to share a moment where she stood up for a friend wanting to retrieve her teddy bear from her ex-boyfriend.
At a prearranged meeting in Croydon town centre, Hassan Sentamu, 18, allegedly attacked Elianne Andam with a kitchen knife while meeting with his ex-girlfriend and her group, as stated in the Old Bailey.
He was on his way to a meeting with his ex, who he had split up with about 10 days before, and her group of friends, which included Elianne.
Instead of returning the teddy bear during an exchange of belongings, he impulsively stabbed Elianne in the neck, enraged by what he perceived as disrespect, according to statements from the jurors.
In a Snapchat video, seen by the court, Elianne can he head saying: ‘We’ve come to collect the stuff from Hassan yeah, there was meant to be an interchange – she gets her stuff, he gets his stuff – he didn’t even bring the stuff.’
Video footage also shows the day before the killing, where Sentamu met the girls at the Whitgift Centre where they ‘teased’ him and his ex-girlfriend threw water on him, jurors heard.
He was splashed again and at least one of the girls joked that ‘tomorrow he would kill them all’, Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors on Monday.
That night, Sentamu ‘brooded’ about what happened and allegedly told a friend: ‘Bro, I can’t let this slide.’
Sentamu has admitted manslaughter but denied Elianne’s murder on the basis of ‘loss of control’ because he has autism.
Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors on Monday: ‘Having heard the evidence you may feel that the catalyst for this dreadful attack was rather more simple: anger.
‘White-hot anger at having been disrespected in public by girls, both by Elianne on the day of the killing and previously.’
The defendant, then aged 17, was already armed with the kitchen knife when he took the bus from his home in New Addington, south London, to the Whitgift Centre on the morning of last September 27, jurors heard.
Mr Chalk told the court: ‘The purpose of the meeting was to exchange belongings. (The ex-girlfriend) in particular was anxious to recover her teddy bear.’
During the meeting in a car park at the Whitgift shopping centre, Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, stuck with her side of the bargain.
She handed over a plastic bag containing his belongings but the defendant arrived empty-handed, jurors were told.
Mr Chalk said: ‘Elianne was aggrieved on her friend’s behalf. So, at around 8.30am whilst Hassan was walking outside the Whitgift Centre, Elianne took the plastic bag back.
‘It was a gesture of solidarity with (her friend) that cost Elianne her life.
‘The defendant chased after her, cornered her and used the kitchen knife to stab her repeatedly.
‘He drove the knife 12cm into her neck, severing the carotid artery and causing injuries that were unsurvivable.
‘Despite the rapid arrival of the emergency services and intensive efforts over the course of nearly an hour, Elianne died at the scene.’
CCTV footage captured the attack, Sentamu running from the scene and disposing of the knife.
He only got as far as the bus stop near his home before being arrested less than 90 minutes later, the court was told.
Mr Chalk said the defendant did not deny wielding the knife and causing Elianne’s death in the face of ‘overwhelming’ evidence against him.
He said that Sentamu had pleaded not guilty to murder on the basis that his responsibility was diminished having been diagnosed with autism in 2020.
He also denies having a blade claiming he had a ‘lawful reason’ for carrying it.
The prosecution acknowledged ‘with compassion’ the challenges posed by autism and the impact ‘adverse’ childhood experiences can have.
But Mr Chalk asserted that neither amounted to an ‘excuse, justification or defence’ for Elianne’s murder.
Sentamu had a ‘short fuse’ and on the day of the killing, he came to the end of it, jurors heard.
The prosecutor said: ‘His calculated decision to bring a knife to the scene meant that the consequences of that outburst for Elianne and her family were utterly devastating.’
Members of Elianne’s family sat in the well of the court as Mr Chalk outlined the case against Sentamu.
The Old Bailey trial before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb continues.
