Elianne Andam desperately fought to save her life after she was brutally stabbed to death by evil Hassan Sentamu.
The 15-year-old schoolgirl suffered ‘unsurvivable’ injuries after the twisted teenager, then 17, violently attacked her with a 12in kitchen knife outside a shopping centre. Elianne had stood up for her friend, Sentamu’s ex, when a row erupted at a bus stop in Croydon, south London, before school on September 27, 2023.
She had bravely tried to get back her friend’s teddy bear when Sentamu lashed out in ‘white-hot anger’ and repeatedly plunged the knife into her neck as she lay on the ground. Elianne, an aspiring lawyer, was a “bright, kind and loving soul”, her heartbroken family has said, before she was “cruelly taken away” from them.
Today, Sentamu was sentenced to life after being found guilty of her murder. The twisted teen had pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. However a jury, after almost 12 hours of deliberation, did not accept his defence following a trial in January.
Sentamu was also convicted of illegally possessing a knife. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, sentencing, said: “Elianne was 15 when you murdered her she will always remain just 15 she will never realise the potential of her life.”
“The pain of her loss to her parents and younger brother is indescribable. Her father says she was a kind beautiful girl. Her mum recalls her big dreams to change the world and become a lawyer and fight for justice.”
In a victim impact statement, Elianne’s mother, Dorcas Andam, said she was the “kindest, most loving daughter” who was “vibrant, creative, and purposeful” and loved to sing and braid hair. She said: “Now the music has stopped, the laughter is gone. All that remains is a deafening silence.”
During the trial, Elianne’s tragic final moments were played out in court as police told how she devastatingly lost her life after she tried to stick up for her friend. Sentamu had refused to hand back items belonging to her pal, who he had split up with 10 days earlier.
CCTV footage showed Elianne grabbing a bag of his clothes in defence of her friend. She then ran away from the bus stop and he sprinted after her, pulled out the knife and repeatedly stabbed her. Elianne begged her killer to stop as he knifed her in the neck. He was captured on camera fleeing the scene and discarding the knife.
PC Alex Gray told how he received a call to Wellesley Road, Croydon, where Elianne lay bleeding in a “scene of chaos”. He told jurors: “There were people screaming, shouting.” PC Ben Carter stepped in to give CPR and put pressure on her wounds in a frantic effort to save Elianne, who was not breathing.
He said beside her body was her school bag, which contained a planner and her name. PC Carter said: “Next to where Elianne was there was a school bag. Inside the school bag was what I can only describe as a school planner which had her name on it. That’s how we identified her.”
Meanwhile, Sentamu was arrested at a bus stop near his home less than 90 minutes later. Bodycam footage showed the moment he was stopped by officers walking across a park. PC Peter Nolan told the Old Bailey that he noticed a “smear of blood” on Sentamu’s hand, and the teen told police his name was John before being asked to put his hands behind his back. Sentamu asked: “Why, why, I didn’t do nothing bro.”
After his arrest, Sentamu made excuse after excuse after excuse, claiming he could not control himself because of his autism. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and admitted he chased Elianne and delivered the fatal blow, but denied murder and claimed his autism caused a “loss of control”.
In January, the thug was found guilty of murder. Detective Chief Inspector Becky Woodsford, who led the investigation, told how in the moments before her death, Elianne was “laughing and smiling, completely oblivious to Sentamu’s rage and the events that were about to unfold”.
She said: “She was simply standing up for her friend – doing what she thought was right. It’s difficult to understand what would motivate someone to carry out such an unspeakable act of violence, particularly in broad daylight and witnessed by horrified onlookers. Sentamu’s cold and calculated actions towards a defenceless girl for seemingly no other reason than feeling humiliated by her are particularly disturbing and I am hugely relieved the jury were able to see through his weak attempts to evade true justice by attempting to excuse what he did.”
Speaking outside court, Elianne’s father, Dr Michael Andam said: “The verdict today is the first step towards justice for Elianne, but also a message that violence and knife crime, especially towards young women, will not go unanswered. As we begin the long process of healing, we reflect on this verdict not as an end but as a step toward change.
“We will 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.” It was a joint statement, from Dr Andam and Elianne’s mother Dorcas, who both made huge sacrifices to send their daughter to the £16,579-a-year Old Palace of John Whitgift independent girls’ school in Croydon.
Dr Andam, who is a care home manager, continued: “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.”
In January, Elianne’s grieving aunt spoke to the BBC and said the 15-year-old’s mother was too heartbroken to speak about what happened. Marian Addow said: “The pain hasn’t gone away. There’s no happiness in me knowing that we lost our beautiful daughter.”
She told how Elianne was a “miracle baby”, born on June 28, 2008, after her parents had been trying to conceive for years. She grew up in Croydon with a younger brother and spent a lot of time with her older female cousins. “They would do girls’ nights together and have sleepovers, because I’ve got three girls,” Marian said, explaining that she saw Elianne as her fourth daughter.
Elianne was a “normal teenager” who loved TikTok, dancing and doing things for her family, whether that was cooking macaroni cheese or doing hair. She was also an ambitious student with dreams of becoming a human rights lawyer. “She wanted to do something big,” Marian said, adding: “Justice was very important for her.”
Addressing Sentamu, Dorcas Andam said he had ruined her life when he killed her daughter in the most “deliberate”, “senseless” and “evil” way. In her victim impact statement, Mrs Andam again spoke of how much potential Elianne had, and would have gone on to do “the greatest things” if her life had not been taken.
She added: “The question that forever haunts me is why. .. What did she ever do to deserve such cruelty?” The teen’s mother went on: “She was taken from me – she was murdered and my life has not been the same since. Every morning I wake up to a house that will never feel whole again. I feel the weight of her absence in every corner of my life.
“I will never see her become the lawyer she could have been. Instead I’m left with an emptiness that will never be filled. Words can’t express the deep pain I live with daily. I cry all the time – everything reminds me of Elianne.
“Elianne was beautiful and her beauty was not just skin deep. Elianne was a big sister, niece aunt cousin, granddaughter, my only daughter.” Addressing Sentamu, she said: “You brutally murdered her in the most humiliating way in broad daylight. Mercilessly killing her on the floor as she begged for mercy. You walked away showing no remorse as if her life meant nothing.
“You did not only kill Elianne, you killed me mentally and emotionally. We are left with nothing but pictures videos. Your actions were senseless and evil.”
