Elianne Andam killer had anger issues, court hears

Elianne Andam was killed outside the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon

A teenager who killed schoolgirl Elianne Andam had "anger issues" and "could get triggered easily", the Old Bailey was told.

Hassan Sentamu, who was 17 at the time, is accused of repeatedly stabbing 15-year-old Elianne when she seized back a bag from him in Croydon, south London, in September last year, after he refused to hand over his ex-girlfriend's teddy bear.

Mr Sentamu, now 18, has admitted manslaughter, but denies murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility because of his autism.

The Old Bailey was played a police interview of one of Mr Sentamu's friends who described him as being "misguided and misled" and said he had spent time in foster care.

'Hassan always had issues'

The friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons because of his age, said that he used to take Mr Sentamu to his church to "give him a better understanding of things" but that he had once had to take him home after he got in an argument with church members.

The court has previously heard how the boys had met up with a group of girls, including Elianne, on the morning of the attack so that Mr Sentamu and his ex-girlfriend could exchange their belongings, but the defendant had turned up empty-handed.

His friend told police that Mr Sentamu had been wearing black cotton gloves, with blue latex gloves underneath, but he had thought it might just be "a fashion sense".

"It's a look that guys want to portray sometimes, like wear the blue gloves just to act, just to look hard or something," he told officers.

He said he had seen his friend in a fist fight before, but he had never known him to carry a knife.

"Hassan always had like issues, like anger issues," he said. "When he got triggered, he could get triggered easily."

The friend added: "He would have this type of look in his eyes, like some type of angry look like he's targeting someone or something, as in like he wants to go and punch them up but he doesn't do nothing."

Earlier, the jury was played video footage of one of Elianne's friends, who also cannot be identified, being cross examined by Pavlos Panayi KC for the defence.

She was asked about an incident at the Whitgift shopping centre the day before Elianne was attacked, and whether she and her friends had bullied Hassan.

She said people had said "mean things" and made fun of him, and had thrown some water at him - but denied that anyone had bullied or threatened him.

Mr Sentamu denies both murder and a charge of illegal possession of a knife, claiming he had a "lawful reason" to be carrying it.

The trial continues.