Girl begged killer to stop as he stabbed her

A police officer has told the Old Bailey how he arrested the killer of 15-year-old Elianne Andam when he saw "a smear of blood on his thumb".

Hassan Sentamu, then 17, stabbed the schoolgirl outside the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon, south London, in September last year.

She was standing up for a friend who had wanted to get back her teddy bear from him, the jury has been told. Mr Sentamu admits killing Elianne but denies murder on the basis his responsibility was diminished due to his autism.

PC Peter Nolan told the court he had been at the police station when he heard a young woman had been stabbed, and then went out to look for the suspect.

He told the Old Bailey that when he saw a bus from Croydon he decided to stop it, to see if any passengers matched the description of the assailant.

PC Nolan's body-worn camera captured the exchange as he detained Mr Sentamu.

When asked his name, the defendant said he was called John but then handed over his Oyster card with his real identity on it, at which point PC Nolan told him to put his hands behind his back.

The officer then called for assistance, telling Mr Sentamu: "You are under arrest on suspicion of GBH, stabbing your girlfriend. Where's the knife? Where's the knife?"

PC Nolan told jurors: "All I knew is that a young girl had been stabbed and the officers were doing what they could to keep her alive.

"One of the officers that turned up said to me the female had sadly passed away and it was now murder."

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC asked the officer what he had noticed about the teenager he had detained.

PC Nolan replied: "I believed what I saw was a smear of blood on his thumb."

The witness told jurors he then called for evidence bags to put over the handcuffed suspect's hands before he was put in a police van.

Mr Sentamu, who is now 18, lashed out with a kitchen knife after refusing to hand back items belonging to Elianne's friend, with whom he had split up 10 days before.

He dumped the weapon nearby and took a bus towards his home in New Addington, the Old Bailey has been told.

Jurors have been shown CCTV footage of the incident in which Elianne was stabbed and images of the defendant running away.

Earlier, another Met Police officer, PC Alex Smith, described to the Old Bailey the "scene of chaos" when he arrived outside the Whitgift Centre, on the morning of 27 September 2023.

He told jurors: "There were people screaming, shouting, people running away. I knew a serious incident had occurred."

Despite the efforts of members of the public and the police, Elianne - who had been stabbed in the neck - was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Sentamu, who was studying sports science at Croydon College, has admitted manslaughter but denies Elianne's murder on the basis of having had a "loss of control" due to his autism.

He also denies a charge of being in illegal possession of a knife, claiming he had a "lawful reason" to be carrying it.

The trial continues.