Boy murdered Elianne Andam in ‘white-hot anger’ after teddy bear row, court told

A teenager stabbed 15-year-old Elianne Andam to death in a fit of “heated anger” over perceived “public disrespect by girls” after failing to hand over her friend’s teddy bear, a court heard.

Hassan Sentamu, 18, attacked Elianne with a kitchen knife during a prearranged meeting at Croydon downtown with his ex-girlfriend and her group, The Old Bailey it was said at the start of her murder trial on Monday.

Instead of returning the teddy bear as part of the exchange, the 18-year-old plunged his blade into Elianne’s neck, losing his temper at what he saw as “disrespect”, jurors heard.

The defendant, who studied sports science at Croydon College, admitted manslaughter but denied killing Elianna on the grounds of “loss of control” because she has autism.

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors: “When you have heard the evidence, you may feel that the catalyst for this horrific attack was much simpler: anger. Burning anger that the girls were disrespected in public, both by Elianna on the day of the murder and before.”

About 10 days before the murder, Sentamu broke up with his girlfriend via text message, telling her: “Your energy is dead, I’m not ready for a relationship…all the best (sic).”

When she asked for her honey back, he replied: “You can pick up your ting on Wednesday before I need my s*** tho from clothes to pillows to flowers (sic).”

He seemed to grow impatient, telling her, “You’re wasting my time, do you want your thing or not?

“If everything isn’t in the bag, you won’t get your silly little bear. (sic).”

The court heard the girl reported to her friends, with Elianne commenting: “He’s so rude.”

The day before the murder, Sentamu met the girls at the Whitgift Center where they “teased” him and the ex-girlfriend threw water on him, jurors heard.

He was sprayed again and at least one of the girls joked that he was “going to kill them all tomorrow,” Chalk said.

That night, Sentamu was “thinking” about what had happened and reportedly told a friend, “Brother, I can’t let this go.”

The defendant, then aged 17, was already armed with a kitchen knife when he took the bus from his home in New Addington, south London, to the Whitgift Center on the morning of September 27 last year, jurors heard.

He was on his way to meet his ex-girlfriend and her group of friends, which included Elianne.

Mr Chalk told jurors: “The purpose of the meeting was to exchange things. [The ex-girlfriend] she was especially anxious to get her teddy bear back.”

During the meeting in the Whitgift shopping center car park, Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, kept her side of the bargain.

She handed over a plastic bag containing three hoodies and tracksuit bottoms, but the accused was empty-handed, jurors were told.

The little girl repeatedly asked for her possessions, saying, “Where’s my teddy bear? Where is my bear?”

The accused replied that he did not want to hurt her and that, according to the girl, he acted “unperturbed”.

Jurors were shown a short mobile phone selfie video in which Elianne appeared to be caught up in the drama and called her friend a “joke”, moments before her smile turned to “absolute terror”.

Mr Chalk said: “Elianne was aggrieved on behalf of her friend. So at around 8.30am while Hassan was walking outside the Whitgift Centre, Elianne took the plastic bag back. It was a gesture of solidarity with [her friend] it cost Elianne her life.

“The defendant chased after her, cornered her and stabbed her several times with a kitchen knife. He plunged the knife 12 cm into her neck, severed the carotid artery and inflicted injuries that were unbearable.

“Despite the rapid arrival of EMS and intensive efforts for nearly an hour, Elianne died at the scene.”

CCTV footage captured the attack, Sentamu fleeing the scene and throwing the knife.

He only got as far as a bus stop near his home before being arrested less than 90 minutes later, the court was told.

Mr Chalk said the defendant had not denied wielding the knife and causing Elianna’s death, in the face of “overwhelming” evidence against him.

He said Sentamu had pleaded not guilty to manslaughter on the grounds that his responsibility had been diminished after he was diagnosed with autism in 2020.

He also denies having the blade, claiming he had a “legitimate reason” to carry it.

The prosecution “compassionately” acknowledged the challenges of autism and the impact that “harmful” childhood experiences can have.

But Mr Chalk argued that neither constituted an “excuse, justification or defence” for Elianna’s murder.

Sentamu had a “short fuse” and on the day of the murder, it came to an end, 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 extremely devastating.”

Mr Chalk said the victim was a popular student and according to one of her friends: “Everybody loved Elianne.”

Members of Elianne’s family sat in the court well as Mr Chalk presented the case against Sentamu.

The Old Bailey trial continues before Ms Justice Cheema-Grubb.