The tortured family of tragic Elianne Andam last night claimed they had been “abandoned” by the justice system as they begged: “Put the knives down.”
The schoolgirl’s killer, Hassan Sentamu, 18, was jailed for life today after he erupted in “white hot” rage and stabbed the 15-year-old to death in a row over a teddy bear. But her family said the 23-year sentence imposed on the knife-obsessed teen for murder “failed to reflect the sheer brutality” of her killing on September 27 2023.
They issued a desperate plea to end the plague of knife violence sweeping across Britain which was “robbing too many families of their loved ones”. It came after Elianne’s mother, NHS children’s nurse Dorcas, 46, gave a powerful victim impact statement at the Old Bailey to reveal how her life had been torn apart “deliberate, senseless and evil” crime.
She said: “Our home was full of her music, her laughter and her energy. There was always warmth, always joy – because Elianne was there. She lived life to the fullest and always made life worth living.
“But now the music has stopped. The laughter is gone. All that remains is a deafening silence – a hollow, painful silence that echoes through every part of my life.”
Elianne’s father, Michael, 53, said: “No parent should ever have to bury their child let alone in such a violent manner. I could not protect her, that guilt will weigh on my heart for the rest of my life.”
Sentamu was just 17 when he armed himself with a kitchen knife like a character from Netflix drama Top Boy after arranging to meet his ex-girlfriend to swap possessions. When Elianne challenged him, Sentamu chillingly warned her, “I don’t want to hurt you.”
But seconds later he chased her down and repeatedly rained blows down on her with the blade, before fleeing the scene. He admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming his autism had caused him to “lose control” during the violent attack in which he drove the blade 12cms into Elianne’s neck. But jurors dismissed his plea and returned guilty verdicts after being told he had picked up the knife after feeling “disrespected by girls in public”.
The day before the killing, Elianne and her friends had mocked Sentamu and squirted water over him outside a Card Factory branch in the Whitgift Shopping Centre, Croydon, south London. Raging Sentamu was so incensed by the incident he called a friend afterwards, warning he “cannot let this slide”.
Today he was jailed for 23 years. Mr Justice Cheema-Grubb said that because he was only 17 at the time of the murder, the starting point for the crime was 14 years. It was increased by nine years to “mark society’s abhorrence of knife crime and mark it as a deterrent”.
But in a plea outside the Old Bailey, her family wore t-shirts emblazoned with Elianne’s beaming face and begged: “Knife crime is robbing too many families of their loved ones. We do not want another family to stand where we are today, mourning a life taken too soon. Something must be done.”
In a statement, they called for an “overhaul of the justice system” and demanded “effective deterrents”. They said: “The fact that this crime was committed by a minor has, unfortunately, resulted in a sentence that we believe falls woefully short of true justice.
“Despite the horror of the crime — the premeditated nature of the attack, the brutality of her death, and the permanent void it has left in our hearts — the legal system’s response has left us feeling abandoned and unheard. While we acknowledge the need for rehabilitation in juvenile justice, we cannot accept that such lenient sentences are appropriate for violent, calculated crimes like this.
“The current legal framework does not deter young individuals from committing violent crimes. It does not provide sufficient accountability for those who commit the most heinous acts.
“It is clear that the current laws are failing — failing to protect victims, failing to hold offenders truly accountable, and failing to deter other young individuals from committing similar atrocities. The message being sent is deeply concerning: that minors can commit unthinkable crimes and still evade the full consequences of their actions.”
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said a year after the murder a large mural was unveiled showing Elianne, a “loving teenager, full of life”. She said it was a “forceful” message from the community to young men like Sentamu, telling them: “Put the knives down.”
The judge said was a “sad fact of our times that many families lose loved ones” after young men “carry a knife and use it”. The judge said that October 27 2023 was “like any ordinary school day” when Sentamu met his ex-girlfriend to return a teddy bear.
But Sentamu, who spent the entire sentencing hearing with his head bowed, shattered that normality when he murdered Elianne. Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “Elianne was 15 years old when you murdered her. She will always remain 15 and will never realise the potential of her life.”
Sentamu’s defence team had said he was “sorry” for the murder and wanted to work with children when he was released from prison. But the judge said Elianne was a “defenceless girl” and describe her as a “schoolgirl, unarmed and wearing her school uniform”.
For possession of bladed article, Sentamu was handed a one-year sentence to be served concurrently.
Mrs Cheema-Grubb told him: “You have taken the life of a precious child. You have devastated the lives of those who knew and loved Elianne Andam. The responsibility of Elianne’s death will be with you for the rest of your days.”
As Sentamu left the dock, members of the public gallery erupted. One shouted: “F*** you and f*** your apology. You deserve the death penalty.” Another screamed: “You killed a little girl.” Another shouted: “You deserve to be spat on.”
Prosecutor Ben Lloyd earlier told the court of an incident in which Sentamu assaulted a child since he had been on remand at Oakhill secure training centre. He said the victim approached him, tapped him “playfully” on the arm, but Sentamu responded by punching and knocking him to the floor.
Sentamu was said to have an “extremely low” IQ and mental scars from childhood abuse in his native Uganda. His own mother begged social workers to “take him away” because she could not cope with his outbursts. He first brought a knife to the classroom aged just 12.
Sentamu was bounced from school to school as incidents of self-harm and unprovoked attacks against other children increased in frequency and violence. Sentamu was born in Uganda in 2006 but joined his mother in Britain aged five after she allegedly fled domestic abuse from his father.
He was sent back to a Ugandan boarding school aged 11, but returned to the UK three months later. He first brought a knife to school in Britain aged 12, pointing it at his own chest and telling his teacher that he hated his life and would kill himself.
In 2019 he threatened a student at knifepoint on a school trip, and on a different occasion attacked a classmate with a pair of scissors he had stolen from a teacher’s desk. The same year a social worker found Sentamu alone at home with a bag packed by his mother.
When the social worker phoned her, she asked them to “take him away” and Sentamu was placed into foster care. Aged 14, his outbursts intensified and he threatened to chop the tail off his foster carer’s cat if it got in his way.
Three weeks before Elianne’s murder, he messaged a friend saying he was contemplating suicide, adding: “The real me is evil, dark and miserable.” And while on remand at Oakhill Secure Training Centre before his trial, Sentamu threatened another inmate who mentioned Elianne’s murder, shouting at him: “Do you want to end up like her, six feet under? I’ll do the same again.”
In mitigation, defence barrister Pavlos Panayi KC said: “A crime as horrific as this leaves no real room for advocacy. There are no words that can possibly minimise, justify or excuse anything Hassan Sentamu did.”
Referring to Sentamu’s troubled background, he said: “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.” He added: “He has enough good in himself to recognise and hate himself for it.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email [email protected], visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.