‘Bro I can’t let this slide’: The chilling warning of troubled teenage killer who murdered schoolgirl
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Hassan Sentamu had warned his friend ‘Bro I can’t let this slide’ before launching his murderous attack on schoolgirl Elianne Andam. “Whenever you see me it’s never really me, it’s a persona I put on. The real me is evil, dark, and miserable.”.
![[The moment Hassan Sentamu was arrested (Met Police/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/10/16/67a5a4025f2aaea2d42fa7e6873ff302Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzM2NjA5MjY2-2.78441338.jpg)
Those were the words written by teenage killer Hassan Sentamu days before he viciously murdered talented schoolgirl Elianne Andam outside a Croydon shopping centre. After hiding a large kitchen knife under his hoodie, the 18-year-old launched his attack on the 15-year-old girl after she grabbed a plastic bag from his hand, in an attempt to stand up for her friend.
![[Elianne Andam, 15, who was stabbed to death on in Croydon, south London. (Met Police/PA)]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/09/12/7d4d546ee4609f3cf8a232900302b20eY29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNzMzODMwMzg4-2.73924476.jpg)
Sentamu, who had been studying sports science at Croydon College, had been due to meet his ex-girlfriend, Elianne’s friend, to return her teddy bear but had arrived empty-handed, despite her maintaining her side of the bargain and bringing his hoodies.
![[Sentamu pictured running from the scene wielding a large knife]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/10/16/63749e75-8989-45fd-97c8-41e8d7a56834.jpg)
In a Snapchat video taken moments before she was knifed, Elianne can be seen smiling at the camera, before snatching back her friend’s bag, before her face turns to “abject terror”. Unbeknownst to her and her friends, under Sentamu’s three layers of clothing was a large kitchen knife, which he used to plunge into her neck.
![[Elianne with her friends shortly before she was stabbed in the neck]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/10/16/0159efb9-e451-4c74-b145-54a1db6dedc3.jpg)
This act of violence was the conclusion in a series of escalating incidents involving Sentamu, which had seen the youth injure two other schoolgirls, speak of his desire to harm a cat and threaten fellow pupils with knives and scissors. As the Old Bailey case progressed, more troubling details of Sentamu’s upbringing and mental state were told to the jury, as well as his handwritten note that he was “counting down to his suicide”.
