Jurors Hear Victim Pleaded with Attacker During Fatal Stabbing in Croydon

Jurors have been informed that Elianne Andam implored her assailant to cease his actions as he inflicted stab wounds to her neck. Hassan Sentamu, aged 17 at the time, attacked the 15-year-old victim with a kitchen knife outside a Croydon shopping centre in south London. This occurred after he declined to return possessions belonging to Elianne’s friend, from whom he had separated ten days prior. The Old Bailey heard that when Elianne took a bag containing his clothes in support of her friend, Mr. Sentamu pursued her, brandished a knife, and repeatedly stabbed her. Mr. Sentamu acknowledges committing the manslaughter of Elianne but disputes the charge of murder, asserting that his culpability is reduced due to his autism. Jurors were informed that after Elianne collapsed outside the Whitgift Centre, Mr. Sentamu absconded and discarded the knife in the vicinity. His arrest took place within 90 minutes, following a police officer’s intervention to stop a bus close to his residence in New Addington. Mr. Sentamu’s former girlfriend recounted the sequence of events preceding the assault on her friend, which occurred before school on the morning of September 27, 2023. During a video interview presented in court, she informed police that she perceived an issue when Mr. Sentamu, currently 18, arrived for a pre-arranged exchange of their possessions wearing gloves and a mask, a behaviour she described as “out of character.” She stated her awareness of his “anger issue” and compared his disposition that morning to a character from the crime drama “Top Boy,” which is set in London. She testified: “I thought he was gonna hit me. I thought that he had something on him because… watching shows and stuff like, for example Top Boy, whenever someone’s about to get killed they always have on specifically black gloves.” She added: “I’ve never seen him wear black gloves; it’s not cold outside.” After handing over his bag of items, she recounted asking him to return her possessions. She stated: “He looked at me… and rolled his eyes a bit.. and said, ‘I don’t want to hurt you’… not like in an emotional way… like he’s warning me.” She continued: “I was saying ‘Where’s my teddy [bear]? Where’s my teddy? Where’s my teddy?” The girl, whose identity is protected by legal restrictions, expressed annoyance and a desire to proceed to school, at which moment Elianne seized Mr. Sentamu’s possessions. She testified: “Elianne ran behind him, grabbed the bag and started running and laughing as a joke. It was the type of thing that Elianne would have done.” She further stated: “At first I was laughing a bit ‘cos it was a joke and then I got scared ‘cos then Hassan got mad.” She informed police: “He then lifted up his hoodie quick, pulled out something and I saw a big knife.” She described: “I turned around for one second then I saw her on the floor like trying to say ‘stop’, basically with her hand out. He was there like over her, bending.” She continued: “I just saw Elianne on the floor, like backing up on the floor with her hand out like this, basically saying ‘stop, stop, stop’ and I’m pretty sure I saw him bend and like try and do something else, like stab her again.” Prior to arranging the meeting, the girl mentioned that Mr. Sentamu had become enraged and used expletives towards her during a telephone argument. She recounted: “I just told him never ever speak to me like that ever again, ‘cos I said I’ve never been spoken to like that in my life.” She added: “I said no man should speak to a girl like that and he said, ‘oh well, there’s a first time for everything’.” Earlier in the proceedings, PC Peter Nolan provided testimony concerning Mr. Sentamu’s arrest. Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC inquired about the officer’s observations regarding the detained teenager. PC Nolan responded: “I believed what I saw was a smear of blood on his thumb.” Mr. Sentamu, a sports science student at Croydon College, refutes both the murder charge and the accusation of unlawful knife possession, asserting a “lawful reason” for carrying the weapon. The judicial proceedings are ongoing.