Elianne Andam’s Friends Joked About Assailant’s Intent, Court Told

Testimony at the Old Bailey revealed that on the day preceding the fatal stabbing of 15-year-old Elianne Andam, her friends had made jokes about the teenage assailant killing them. Hassan Sentamu, who was 17 at the time, assaulted the schoolgirl in Croydon on September 27, 2023. This occurred after he declined to return a teddy bear belonging to Elianne’s friend, following his recent separation from the friend. According to evidence presented at the Old Bailey, when Elianne took a bag containing Mr. Sentamu’s clothes in support of her friend, he pursued her, drew a knife, and stabbed her multiple times. Mr. Sentamu, now 18 years old, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter but has entered a not guilty plea for murder, asserting that his culpability was reduced due to his autism. Previously, Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC informed the jury that the defendant had stabbed Elianne “in a fit of white hot anger” because he perceived her actions, along with the conduct of the girls on the day prior to the assault, as disrespectful towards him. During a police interview presented to the court, another girl, who was also a friend of Elianne, recounted that the group had encountered Mr. Sentamu and one of his friends at the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon on the afternoon before the incident. Due to their age, none of the young witnesses can be identified for legal reasons. She stated that the girls had desired Mr. Sentamu to apologize to his former girlfriend, following the ex-girlfriend’s account of him having shouted and sworn at her. Testimony in court indicated that the girls had taunted Mr. Sentamu about his appearance and had thrown water on him. However, he showed no reaction, which the witness described as “scary.” She further mentioned that Mr. Sentamu’s friend had repeatedly stated that he was “crazy.” “He said multiple times that Hassan’s an odd character, like he does, he acts irrationally, he’s got anger issues, all of that,” she testified. She informed the police that the girls had been apprehensive about a meeting scheduled for the subsequent morning, where Mr. Sentamu and his ex-girlfriend were to exchange personal items. They had exchanged messages on Snapchat that evening regarding this. “We were just coming up with a different conspiracies, what if he’s building up his anger, but then tomorrow he’s just gonna come and kill us all? Like we were making jokes out of it,” she recounted. Subsequently, the court was shown a later police interview with the same girl, during which she was questioned about a Snapchat video she had recorded on a phone depicting the incident at the Whitgift Centre. The recording was presented to the jury, revealing the girls encouraging one another to throw water on Mr. Sentamu and insisting that he apologize to their friend. Elianne’s voice was heard stating: “What if it was acid? It’s not acid, but what if it was, you’d just accept it because you can’t say a simple word.” Elianne’s friend informed police that she could not recall whether Mr. Sentamu had issued threats to the girls. She also stated that no one had made threats of violence or threatened to throw acid on him. Mr. Sentamu, a sports science student at Croydon College, also contests a charge of unlawful knife possession, asserting he had a “lawful reason” for carrying the weapon. The trial is ongoing.