A killer who stabbed a 15-year-old schoolgirl in the neck in a fit of “white hot” rage after she stood up for her friend in a row over a teddy bear has been jailed for 23 years.
Hassan Sentamu, 18, had a history of attacking girls and carrying knives before he murdered aspiring human rights lawyer Elianne Andam, described as a “vibrant” and “creative” young woman who “would have changed the world”.
Elianne had arranged to meet Sentamu outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon with her friend, Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, to exchange possessions following their breakup.
But the meeting ended in tragedy after the teen, then 17, arrived with a large kitchen knife concealed under his clothing, which he used to stab Elianne in a row over why he had not returned his ex’s teddy.
He admitted to killing the schoolgirl on 27 September 2023, but denied murder, claiming that his autism had affected his ability to exercise self-control.
However, Sentamu, now 18, was found guilty by a majority verdict in January and unanimously convicted of possessing the blade.
Jailing him for life with a minimum term of 23 years at the Old Bailey on Thursday, Ms Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “Elianne Andam was 15 years old when you murdered her. She will always remain just 15. She will never realise the potential of her life.”
She described the teen as a “hardworking, happy girl who had lived life to the full” who was wearing her school uniform when she was murdered in full view of horrified commuters on their way to work.
Despite his diagnosis of autism and ADHD, she said: “In my judgment, the driver of your actions was your short temper and your aggressive tendencies” combined with his “deliberate decision” to carry a knife.
Less time already served on remand, he must spend at least another 21 years and 199 days in prison before he is eligible for parole. He was also sentenced to one year for possession of a bladed article, to be served concurrently.
In a victim’s personal statement read by prosecutor Ben Lloyd, Elianne’s heartbroken mother Dorcas Andam told her daughter’s killer who held his head in his hands in the dock: “I am serving a life sentence of grief.”
“Our home was full of music, her laughter and her energy. There was always warmth and joy because Elianne was there,” she said.
“But now the music has stopped. The laughter is gone. All that remains is the deafening silence – a hollow, painful silence that echoes through every part of my life.”
She said every morning she wakes in a house that does not feel whole because her daughter did not live to celebrate her 16th birthday, her school prom or graduate from university.
“She had so much potential and would have changed the world and gone on to do the greatest things,” the mother added.
“Elianne had big dreams – she aspired to become a lawyer to fight for justice and make a difference but her life was stolen before she even had the chance to fulfil those dreams.”
Her father Michael Andam said Elianne’s absence “is a gaping wound in our lives”, adding: “The thought of her final moment torments me, wondering if she was calling for me.
“This crime didn’t just take my daughter’s life it took mine too. It took the life of our entire family.”
In mitigation, Sentamu’s lawyer Pavlos Panayi KC read a letter of apology from Sentamu and explained he suffered a traumatic childhood.
“I am sorry for what I have done and regret it happened every day of my life,” the killer said, adding that he prays every day “for the family who I have harmed”.
His lawyer added: “Hassan’s violent streak, his anger, his outbursts, did not come out of nowhere. He was not born with them. They come from his lived experiences from when he was a little boy.”
However, as he was sent down there were angry shouts from the public gallery rejecting his earlier apology, saying: “F*** you and your apology… You deserve to be spat on.”
In a statement delivered outside the court, a spokesperson for the extended family said the sentence “falls woefully short of true justice” and called for tougher punishments for minors.
Elianne had been a pupil at the prestigious Old Palace of John Whitgift School where she had excelled at music, drama and English studies and had hopes of studying human rights.
Unable to face being “disrespected”, Sentamu, who had been studying sports science at Croydon College, had plotted to take drastic action after being humiliated by Elianne and her friends at Whitgift shopping centre, the trial heard.
The day before the killing, they had “teased” him by throwing water over him after he broke up with Elianne’s friend by text, telling her: “Ur energy is dead I’m not rdy for a relationship…all the best [sic].”
Sentamu sulked overnight and ominously told a friend “bro, I can’t let this slide,” before agreeing to meet the girls the following morning to exchange belongings.
In a video interview played in court, his ex-girlfriend told police she realised something was wrong when he turned up 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.
After she handed back his hoodies and tracksuit bottoms in a plastic bag, he revealed he was empty-handed while she pleaded for her teddy bear to be returned.
A shocking short mobile phone video captured the moment Elianne stepped into the drama, smiling as she grabbed the bag from Sentamu in a gesture of solidarity – before her face turned to “abject terror”.
He chased Elianne and drove the kitchen knife 12cm into her neck as she pleaded for him to stop, severing the carotid artery. A passing bus driver held her hand and stayed with her as she lay dying in the street.
He was arrested 90 minutes later after fleeing the scene and disposing of the murder weapon.
Details of Sentamu’s childhood revealed he had suffered a troubled upbringing, which saw him flee Uganda from domestic abuse and spend time in foster care.
The month after Elianne’s death, he got into a row after a fellow inmate at Oakhill Secure Training Centre in Milton Keynes accused him of killing girls.
Sentamu responded: “I’ll do it again. I’ll do it to your mum. Do you want to end up like her, six feet under?”
Following the verdict, Elianne’s heartbroken parents Michael and Dorcas said his conviction is a “message that violence and knife crime, especially towards young women, will not go unanswered”.
Detective chief inspector Becky Woodsford added that Elianne was killed standing up for her friend and “doing what she thought was right”.
