'Evil' teen jailed for murdering schoolgirl in 'white hot rage' after row over teddy bear

Elianne Andam, 15 was 'cruelly' killed when Hassan Sentamu, now 18, stabbed her in the neck outside a shopping centre after a row erupted at a bus stop in Croydon

A teenager has been jailed for life for murdering a 15-year-old in a row over a teddy bear.

Elianne Andam was described as a "bright, kind and loving soul" who dreamed of becoming a barrister. However, she was "cruelly taken away" when Hassan Sentamu, now 18, stabbed her in the neck outside a shopping centre.

Sentamu had a history of attacking girls and carrying knives before he killed the popular schoolgirl outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, south-east London on September 27, 2023.

He had admitted manslaughter but was found guilty of murder and having a blade after a jury rejected his claim that autism affected his ability to exercise self-control.

The court had heard that Sentamu, then 17, lashed out in “white hot” rage and stabbed Elianne with a kitchen knife before school.

About 10 days before, Sentamu had split up with Elianne’s friend by text, telling her: “Ur energy is dead I’m not rdy for a relationship…all the best.”

The day before the killing, he had seen the girls at the Whitgift Centre where they “teased” him and his ex-girlfriend threw water on him.

Seething at the perceived disrespect, he told a friend he could not “let this slide."

The next day, he donned a mask and gloves and armed himself with a kitchen knife before a planned meeting to hand over his ex-girlfriend’s teddy bear in exchange for some of his clothes.

Elianne stood up for her friend when Sentamu turned up without the bear and walked off with a bag of his belongings.

Sentamu’s ex-girlfriend told the court: “Elianne ran behind him, grabbed the bag and started running and laughing as a joke. It was the type of thing that Elianne would have done.

“At first I was laughing a bit because it was a joke and then I got scared because then Hassan got mad.”

Sentamu chased Elianne and stabbed her repeatedly as she lay on the ground – despite her pleas for him to stop, the court was told.

She suffered a fatal 12cm deep stab to the neck and a passing bus driver held her hand and stayed with her as she lay dying in the street.

The stabbing was caught on CCTV and in the ensuing chaos, Elianne’s traumatised friends told police what happened and described the killer who had fled and dumped the bloody knife.

A police officer spotted him on a bus heading towards New Addington and arrested him within an hour-and-a-half of the killing.

Sentamu, who was born in Uganda declined to give evidence in his defence during his trial.

But the court was told of his troubled childhood.

When he was just 12, Sentamu was given a police caution after producing a knife in school. Yet, he would later put girls in headlocks and threaten to harm a foster carer's cat and chop off its tail, the jury was told.

The month after Elianne’s death, Sentamu 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?”

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.”

Addressing Sentamu, she said he had ruined her life when he killed her daughter in the most “deliberate”, “senseless” and “evil” way.

Elianne was full of potential, had dreams of becoming a lawyer and would have gone on to do “the greatest things” if her life had not been taken, Mrs Andam said.

She added: “The question that forever haunts me is why? What did she ever do to deserve such cruelty?"

“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.”

Elianne’s father Michael Andam called on the judge to hand down the strongest sentence which reflects the “true horror” of what happened.

He described her as a “bright light” whose absence had left a “gaping wound."

He 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 sat in the dock of the Old Bailey with his head bowed as the victim impact statements were read out by prosecutor Ben Lloyd at his sentencing hearing today (March 13).

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.”

Sentencing Sentamu to life behind bars with a minimum term of 23 years, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: "Elianne was 15 when you murdered her she will always remain just 15, she will never realise the potential of her life.”

She shared how a mural had been set up for Elianne in Croydon, near where she was killed adding: “It’s presence marks the determination of the community as forcefully as they can – put the knives down.”

As he was sent down, there were angry shouts from the public gallery rejecting his earlier apology, saying: “You deserve to be spat on.”

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