A teenager who stabbed to death schoolgirl Elianne Andam in a shocking knife attack during a row over a teddy bear is facing life in prison after being found guilty of murder.
Hassan Sentamu, 18, was filled with “white hot anger” when he chased after 15-year-old Elianne and lunged at her with a kitchen knife outside a Croydon shopping centre.
Days earlier, Sentamu’s relationship with one of Elianne’s friends had ended and the shopping centre meeting was intended for an exchange of the former couple’s possessions.
The friend brought a bag of Sentamu’s clothes but he failed to bring her possessions, including a beloved teddy bear which she had left at his home.
During the row that followed, Elianne grabbed Sentamu’s bag and ran a short distance away from him – apparently in a show of support for her friend.
She was filming herself on Snapchat at the time, and the chilling footage shows her smile quickly evaporate in terror as Sentamu pulled out the knife he had secretly brought to the scene.
Sentamu tried to blame the stabbing on his autism diagnosis, suggesting he had unavoidably lost control before stabbing Elianne.
But a jury at the Old Bailey found him guilty of murder, and the teenage now faces a life sentence.
The murder shocked London when it was revealed how a schoolgirl had been stabbed in broad-daylight, with rapper Stormzy joining masses of mourners at a vigil for Elianne.
After the guilty verdict, Elianne’s parents Dorcas and Michael Andam said the murder meant their “world was shattered”.
“Our hearts were broken by the senseless and violent loss of our beloved daughter, Elianne Andam.
“At just 15 years old she had her whole life ahead of her, filled with hopes and dreams for the future - all cruelly taken away from her and from us. Her death has left a void in our lives that can never be filled.
"This trial has been our fight for justice, forcing us to confront the devastating details of Elianne’s final moments, details that will remain with us forever.
“While today’s verdict acknowledges the full extent of his actions, it cannot bring Elianne back to us. The verdict today is the first step toward justice for Elianne, but also a message that violence and knife crime, especially toward young women, will not go unanswered.
"Today, we choose not to dwell on the pain of the trial but instead to honour Elianne’s memory. She was a bright, kind, and loving soul who embraced life, her faith, and her belief in standing up for what was right. We think about her every moment of every day, cherishing her love and the joy she brought to everyone around her.”
The couple thanked friends and family for their support, and pledged to “continue to fight against the violence that took Elianne from us, sharing her story and working toward a world where no family has to endure such heartbreak.”
Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC told jurors the stabbing was fueled by Sentamu’s anger at being disrespected, particularly because those challenging him were girls.
“The catalyst for this dreadful attack was …anger”, he said. “White-hot anger at having been disrespected in public by girls, both by Elianne on the day of the killing and previously.”
The court heard Sentamu’s rage was building from the end of the relationship, and was exacerbated by an incident the day before the stabbing when the same group of friends teased him and splashed him with water.
Sentamu had a troubled childhood, and moved to the UK from his native Uganda as a child after allegations of domestic abuse against his father.
He had made past threats to kill himself, including when he pulled out a knife in class at the age of 13 and threatened to kill himself.
At the time of the fatal stabbing, Sentamu was studying sports science at Croydon College.
The court heard Sentamu broke off his relationship by text, telling his girlfriend: “Ur energy is dead I’m not rdy for a relationship…all the best.”
They swapped messages over the next few days, with Sentamu becoming increasingly hostile and aggressive. The girlfriend asked for her teddy bear back, and in one impatient message Sentamu wrote: “Ur wasting my time do you want your thingy or not? If everything isn’t in the bag your not gonna get your dumb little bear.”
On the day before the stabbing, Sentamu was teased in an incident which was partly caught on camera. When he was splashed with water, one of the girls joked “tomorrow he would kill them all”.
That night, Sentamu told a friend “bro, I can’t let this slide”, and he armed himself with a kitchen knife the following morning as he left home in New Addington, south London.
The meeting had been arranged for morning, before school, in the car park of the Whitgift Centre in Croydon on September 27, 2023.
The girlfriend, who cannot be named due to her age, returned a bag containing three hoodies and a pair of tracksuit bottoms to Sentamu. But he had come empty handed.
She told the Old Bailey trial that she knew something was wrong because Sentamu was wearing black gloves and a Covid face mask, likening his appearance to that of characters about to commit crimes on TV show Top Boy.
She demanded the return of her teddy bear as Sentamu repeatedly dodged the question, before he finally replied: “Look, I don’t want to hurt you.”
Elianne then grabbed the Tesco carrier bag, and the friend described the moment Sentmau “got mad” and lifted up his shirt to retrieve the knife.
“She grabbed the thing, because I was annoyed because I wanted to go to school. He then lifted his hoodie quick, pulled out something, and I saw a big knife and I turned around for one second then saw her on the floor, trying to say stop basically with her hand out.”
The court heard Sentamu stabbed Elianne repeatedly, including while she was on the ground attempting to protect herself.
Sentamu was caught on camera fleeing the scene and trying to dispose of the bloodied knife.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter before the trial but denied murder, and called psychiatric evidence to support his claim that his autism had been to blame.
Sentamu also denied having a knife with him in a public place.
The teenager’s conviction means he now faces a life sentence. He broke down in tears in the dock when the guilty verdict was delivered.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb adjourned sentencing until March 13, telling Sentamu: “I understand you must be very shocked and take time to get used to what has happened.”
The killer, still sobbing, was then helped back to the cells by three dock officers.
Samantha Yelland, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a tragic case where young Elianne, who had her whole life ahead of her, was brutally murdered by Hassan Sentamu.
“Our thoughts remain with her devastated family and friends who loved her dearly, as well as those who had to witness the shocking attack that morning.
“The evidence in this case was overwhelming, with clear CCTV footage showing Sentamu attacking Elianne.”
