A teenager who repeatedly stabbed 15-year-old Elianne Andam in a row over a teddy bear has been ordered to spend at least 23 years in prison for her murder.
Hassan Sentamu, then 17, attacked the schoolgirl outside a shopping centre in Croydon, south London, in September 2023.
Giving him a life term at the Old Bailey, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “The pain of her loss to her parents and younger brother is indescribable. She will always remain just 15 – she will never realise the potential of her life.”
The court heard Sentamu had a history of attacking girls and carrying knives before he killed the popular schoolgirl outside the Whitgift Centre.
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 trigger for his actions was his “short temper and aggressive tendencies”, which combined with his “deliberate decision to carry a knife,” the judge said.
As Sentamu was sent down, there were angry shouts from the public gallery.