Elianne Andam killer's autism 'significant factor'

A medical expert has told the trial of the teenager accused of murdering schoolgirl Elianne Andam that he believes her killer's autism was a "significant contributory factor" in causing him to fatally stab her.

Hassan Sentamu was 17 at the time of the attack in Croydon, south London, in September 2023.

He admitted manslaughter, but denies murder on the basis of diminished responsibility because of his autism.

Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at Oxford Univerisity, Seena Fazel, was questioned by Mr Pavlos Panayi KC for the defence about the moment that Mr Sentamu stabbed 15-year-old Elianne, after she seized a bag from him when he refused to hand back his ex-girlfriend's belongings.

Prof Fazel told the court he did not take the view that Mr Sentamu's reaction was "simply one of anger" because "the reaction was so extreme and disproportionate".

He said he considered Mr Sentamu's ability to exert self-control was substantially impaired.

The jury had earlier been played footage of an incident that took place the previous day at the Whitgift shopping centre in Croydon, where Elianne and her friends, including Mr Sentamu's ex-girlfriend, had teased him and thrown water over him.

Prof Fazel told the court that Mr Sentamu had told him that he had been "ashamed" and "had felt pure anger for hours," and that his autism had affected his ability to control his anger and frustration.

The jury heard that Mr Sentamu, now 18, had a history of self-harm and aggression towards other young people.

He struggled with making eye contact and with understanding other people's emotions and behaviour, the court was told.

Prof Fazel said: "I think this difficulty in understanding other people's behaviour is an important part of explaining his actions on the day of the killing."

Prosecutor Alex Chalk KC put it to Prof Fazel that he had written his draft report without reviewing any of Mr Sentamu's records from school, social services, youth justice, or police criminal records.

Prof Fazel said that was not essential in his view.

The Old Bailey trial also heard from the Professor of Forensic Psychiatry at King's College London, Nigel Blackwood, who said that autism, by itself, "is not a significant driver of violence".

On Monday, he told the court that he did not believe Mr Sentamu had a defence of diminished responsibility for his actions because he is autistic.

He said it was his opinion that Mr Sentamu knew what he was doing was wrong and had wanted to "exact revenge".

The trial before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb continues.

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