Girl, 15, fatally stabbed 'standing up for friend'

A 15-year-old miss was fatally stabbed portion lasting up for a person who had wanted to get backmost her teddy carnivore from her ex-boyfriend, a tribunal has heard.

Elianne Andam was attacked by Hassan Sentamu, who was 17 astatine the time, extracurricular the Whitgift buying centre successful Croydon, southbound London, successful September 2023.

Mr Sentamu chased aft Elianne, cornering her and stabbing her repeatedly with a room knife, earlier moving distant and disposing of the weapon, the Old Bailey heard.

He antecedently pleaded blameworthy to manslaughter but is connected proceedings charged with murder, which helium denies.

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC said the defendant, present 18, did not contradict wielding the weapon and causing Elianne's decease but had pleaded not blameworthy to execution connected the ground that his work was diminished owed to his autism.

Mr Sentamu besides denies amerciable possession of a blade, claiming helium had a "lawful reason" for carrying it.

Opening the trial, the prosecution told the tribunal Elianne had gone on with her friend, and a radical of girls, to conscionable the suspect successful a car parkland connected the greeting of 27 September.

Her person and Mr Sentamu, who had divided up 10 days earlier, had planned to speech their belongings.

Mr Chalk told the assemblage that Mr Sentamu had turned up bare handed, and that Elianne was "aggrieved connected her friend's behalf".

She seized the integrative container her person had fixed the suspect successful "a motion of solidarity… that outgo Elianne her life", Mr Chalk said.

"The suspect chased aft her, cornered her and utilized the room weapon to stab her repeatedly," the authoritative told the court.

"He drove the weapon 12cm into her neck, severing the carotid artery and causing injuries that were unsurvivable."

CCTV footage captured the attack, and Mr Sentamu moving from the country and disposing of the knife. He was arrested astatine a autobus halt adjacent his location little than 90 minutes aft the killing.

The prosecution's lawsuit is that the catalyst for the onslaught was "white-hot anger, astatine having been disrespected successful public".

Jurors were told they would person to determine whether the defendant's autism offered him a defence successful law, and whether it provided an mentation for his actions.

Mr Chalk said the prosecution acknowledged "with compassion" the challenges posed by autism but helium told the tribunal that the information did not magnitude to an "excuse, justification oregon defence" for Elianne's murder.

Sentamu had a "short fuse" and connected the time of the killing, helium came to the extremity of it, jurors heard.

Mr Chalk said: "His calculated determination to bring a weapon to the country meant that the consequences of that outburst for Elianne and her household were utterly devastating."

The proceedings continues.