Teenager’s chilling words to cellmate after he was arrested for murdering schoolgirl

The teenager accused of murdering schoolgirl Elianne Andam shouted, ‘do you want to end up like her, six feet under?’ at another prisoner, jurors have heard.

Hassan Sentamu, 18, has been accused of knifing the 15-year-old to death outside a bus stop in Croydon town centre, south London, in September 2023.

But prosecutor Alex Chalk KC said while Sentamu was on remand he got in an ‘angry’ shouting match at Oakhill Secure Training Centre just two weeks after Elianne was killed.

When the fellow prisoner accused him of killing Elianne, 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? I’ll do the same again.’

He also ingested the contents of a chemically activated ice pack at the remand centre, and in April he revealed in a complaint he wanted to ‘hit a staff member’.

Sentamu’s foster carer also revealed he was quick to rise to anger, and would frequently threaten to hurt her cat if he did not get his way, the Old Bailey heard.

On one occasion he also drank shower gel and grabbed a knife from the kitchen in an attempt to harm himself, jurors heard.

Sentamu was sent to a Ugandan boarding school aged 11, where he reported being ‘physically abused and chastised’, including being beaten with a metal pole.

He returned to the UK the same year after injuring himself falling down the stairs while fleeing staff at the school.

In late 2018, he brought a knife to his new school in the UK, and pointed it at his chest saying he wanted to kill himself, leading to police to caution him over the incident.

In February 2019 he was placed into foster care and in March he threatened a pupil with a knife on a school trip, and was later excluded and sent to a Pupil Referral Unit.

Teachers at the unit said Sentamu displayed ‘disruptive and aggressive’ behaviour, including slapping a teacher’s hand, spitting at staff and punching a student.

After rejoining a mainstream school just two months later, he threatened a student with scissors and put two female students into a headlock and dropping them to the floor.

He was eventually diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and moved to a special educational needs school in September 2020, but ‘continued to struggle with his temper’.

Mr Chalk also revealed Sentamu had expressed suicidal ideations on Snapchat, writing: ‘Sometimes I just think to myself am I really good enough, am I worthy enough to live or to even have people around me sometimes.

‘I walk outside with a smile on my face but inside I feel as if I can’t even live anymore every day I contemplate suicide it gets harder every single day to live for another day sometimes I just don’t want to wake up.

‘One day I won’t be here anymore and not for any natural deaths either I really don’t think I will make it past 20 years old

‘There’s always an empty hole in stomach asking for more asking for something just to put me at ease.

‘I look at my kitchen knives every night wondering if I should just end my misery now or live another day to see the ones I love.’

Defence counsel Pavlos Panayi KC told jurors Sentamu will not give evidence during the trial.

He denies murder on the basis his responsibility was diminished due to autism, while claiming he had ‘lawful’ reasons for carrying a knife.

Jurors have been told they will hear psychiatric evidence to help them reach their decision in January 2025.

The trial under Mrs Justice Cheema Grubb continues.

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