Teenager, 18, is discovered responsible of murdering Elianne Andam: Boy stabbed ex-girlfriend’s pal to dying in row over teddy bear
A teenager who stabbed 15-year-old schoolgirl Elianne Andam to death after a row over a teddy bear has today been found guilty of murder.
Hassan Sentamu, 18, flew into a fit of ‘white-hot anger’ and stabbed Elianne in the neck with a kitchen knife outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, south London, on September 27 2023.
The fatal attack took place after Sentamu planned to meet up with his ex-girlfriend, who he had split up with about 10 days before, and her group of friends, which included Elianne.
Rather than returning a teddy bear as part of a belongings swap, he chased down and fatally stabbed Elianne, having lost his temper at perceived ‘disrespect’, jurors previously heard.
The trial heard how Sentamu’s ex had kept her side of the bargain by bringing a plastic bag of his belongings. But when he turned up without the teddy bear, Elianne showed her loyalty to her friend by snatching the bag back and running away.
It was a move that would ultimately cost Elianne her life. Moments later, she was chased down by the furious older boy who stabbed her repeatedly before plunging the knife 12cm into her neck and severing her carotid artery.
The defendant, who declined to give evidence, admitted manslaughter but denied murder and having an article with a blade or point in public.
He claimed his autism spectrum disorder caused him to lose control during the pre-arranged meeting with his ex and her friends.
The trial heard how the then 17-year-old had no lawful excuse for having a kitchen knife, having picked it up at home after an incident the day before where a group of girls, including his victim and ex, mocked him and threw water over him.
Sentamu, of New Addington, near Croydon, chillingly messaged a friend ‘Bro, I can’t let this slide’. He was already armed with the knife when he took the bus from his home to the Whitgift Centre.
Elianne Andam (pictured) was stabbed to death in a fit of ‘white-hot anger’ on September 27 2023
Hassan Sentamu (pictured) fatally stabbed Elianne Andam in Wellesley Road, near the Whitgift Centre, Croydon
Elianne, a pupil at the prestigious £16,579-a-year Old Palace of John Whitgift which her NHS children’s nurse mother had saved up to send her daughter to, was attacked by a bus stop on Wellesley Road as she made her way to school.
The Year 11 pupil, who dreamed of becoming a lawyer and had a ‘great future ahead of her’, died at the scene after being treated for nearly an hour.
Sentamu was arrested just 90 minutes after the attack when a police officer stopped the number 64 bus near his home. When officers caught up with him, they found blood on his thumb.
Detailing the meet up which turned into a sickening tragedy, prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors at an earlier hearing: ‘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.’
The trial heard how Elianne was a friend of Sentamu’s ex who got caught in the middle of a belongings swap
Hassan Sentamu (pictured), 18, exploded in a ‘white-hot’ fit of rage stabbed 15-year-old Elianne Andam to death ‘like a Top Boy character’, a court previously heard
Elianne (pictured with her friends) begged Sentamu to stop his attack, jurors heard
Pictured are knives that police seized from Sentamu as they investigating the killing of Elianne
Footage appears to show Elianne grabbing the bag of belongings from Sentamu before running off
Later, Sentamu is captured on CCTV running away from the scene of the crime
Sentamu is seen boarding a number 64 bus after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s friend to death
Bodycam footage shows the teen being arrested near his home on September 27, 2023. He was allegedly found with blood still on his thumb following the attack
Pictured is Hassan Sentamu’s kitchen, in his family’s home in New Addington
Footage appears to show Elianne (left) running away from Sentamu (right) carrying the bag of belongings
Family and friends of Elianne Andam at the scene of the stabbing in Croydon, south London
He added: ‘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.’
Last week, the trial heard that Sentamu told a fellow inmate he would ‘do it again’.
A month after the attack, Sentamu got into an argument in youth custody. And when he was accused of killing girls, he responded by saying: ‘I’ll do it again. I’ll do it to your mum, the Old Bailey heard.
CCTV footage captured the horrific 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.
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.’
Earlier in the trial, Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend described events leading up to the attack on her friend before school.
In a video interview played in court, she told police she realised something was wrong when he turned up for a planned exchange of their belongings wearing gloves and a mask.
She knew Sentamu had an ‘anger issue’ – and likened his demeanour to a character from the London-based crime drama Top Boy, the court heard.
Pictured: Investigators at the scene of the attack on September 27, 2023
In a Snapchat video shortly before her death, seen by the court, Elianne can be 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’
She said: ‘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.
‘I’ve never seen him wear black gloves, it’s not cold outside.’
She said: ‘I was saying ‘can I have my stuff back?’ like outside the Whitgift Centre where the bus stop is.
‘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 went on: ‘I was saying ‘Where’s my teddy? Where’s my teddy? Where’s my teddy?’.
‘He was looking me up and down, just saying ‘look at you, look at you’ … it was sort of like a disgusted way.’
Asked how it made her feel, she replied: ‘Not too good.’
The girl went on: ‘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.
‘At first I was laughing a bit ‘cos it was a joke and then I got scared ‘cos then Hassan got mad.’
She told police: ‘He then lifted up his hoodie quick, pulled out something and I saw a big knife.
‘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.
Family and friends of Elianne Andam at the scene in Croydon, south London, where 15-year-old Elianne was stabbed to death
Chief Superintendent Andy Brittain (R) pauses next to flowers and tributes left at the scene of Elianne Andam’s murder
‘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.’
When she turned around again, Sentamu was gone and she ran as passengers at a nearby bus stop began ‘shouting and screaming’, she said.
Before arranging the meeting, the girl said Sentamu had got angry and sworn at her during an argument over the phone.
She said: ‘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’.
‘I said no man should speak to a girl like that and he said ‘oh well, there’s a first time for everything’.
‘And I said so that’s how you want to be like, portrayed as someone that wants to be talking to females like that, basically.’
Moments before the attack, Elianne appeared to be caught up in the drama when she recorded a short video clip on Snapchat.
Elianne Andam was stabbed to death on her way to school in Croydon last September
She said: ‘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’, prosecutors said.
That night, Sentamu ‘brooded’ about what happened and allegedly told a friend: ‘Bro, I can’t let this slide.’
The trial previously heard that Sentamu reported being physically abused as a child amid a troubled upbringing.
Jurors heard how he went on to engage in a number of incidents of violent and aggressive behaviour, including taking a knife to school.
Speaking about the troubled childhood, Mr Chalk said: ‘We for the prosecution acknowledge with compassion that Hassan Sentamu has on any view had a difficult and disrupted childhood.’
But the prosecutor said the teenager’s background could not be used as an ‘excuse’ for the murder of the ‘defenceless victim’.
The court was told there was no evidence the autism caused Sentamu to launch into ‘frenzied murderous violence’.
After Elianne’s death, her aunt Marian told MailOnline: ‘You just can’t comprehend the heartbreak of the last 24 hours, how Elianne went to school and never came home.
‘She wanted to be a lawyer, she went to private school paid for by my sister and had a great future ahead of her. She was a lovely girl, she loved doing her hair, had beautiful natural hair, and she really loved gymnastics.
‘We’re a big family and we are all here for our sister, to support her. This has left us absolutely devastated. My sister is not feeling good, this only happened yesterday. It hasn’t sunk in yet, it’s a tragedy.’
A statement issued by the family described ‘beautiful’ Elianne as the ‘light of our lives’.
‘She was bright and funny, with many friends who all adored her,’ it said. ‘She was only 15, and had her whole life ahead of her, with hopes and dreams for the future.
‘All those dreams have now been shattered. Our lives have fallen apart, along with that of our wider family.’
