Ex-girlfriend of murder accused describes slain Elianne’s last moment

A former girlfriend of Hassan Sentamu, the alleged murderer of 15-year-old Elianne Andam, has provided an eyewitness account of the last moment of the deceased.

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC, on Monday, opened the case against Hassan Sentamu, 18, accusing him of murdering Elianne in ‘white hot anger’ after she grabbed a Tesco bag from him in a ‘gesture of solidarity’ with her friend (Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend).

Sentamu, a Croydon College pupil of sports science, admits to manslaughter but denies murder based on diminished responsibility due to autism.

He also denies possessing a blade in a public place, on the basis that he had a ‘lawful’ reason.

At the outset, Mr Justice Cheema-Grubb told jurors: “His case will be that the killing was caused entirely by a loss of self-control because his Autism Spectrum Disorder had substantially impaired his ability to exercise self-control.”

Monday’s opening also included a reference to a water splashing incident, a row over a teddy bear, and the reasons for the end of Sentamu’s relationship.

Then on Tuesday (December 10), jurors heard from two of the first police officers on the scene, the sergeant who arrested Sentamu, and the detective who trawled through CCTV to track down his movements.

The court also heard live and written evidence from witnesses, including an off-duty bus driver who ran to Elianne’s side and gave her first aid. Other bus passengers gave detailed descriptions of what they saw, MyLondon reports.

The latest bit of evidence came from Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend, in the form of four separate police interviews given after the stabbing.

She told officers she knew something was wrong when she saw Sentamu in black gloves, comparing it to Netflix crime drama Top Boy when someone is about to get killed.

According to the news medium, she described the stabbing and her friend’s last moment thus: “Then I saw Elianne backing up on the floor with her hand out like basically saying stop stop stop, and he, I’m pretty sure I saw him bend and like try to do something else like stab her again.”