Hassan Sentamu faces life sentence for stabbing Elianne Andam to death

When Elianne Andam's family heard the word 'Guilty', months of pain erupted into agonizing rapture: 'Jesus' was the first cry to echo through the Old Bailey. Upstairs in the public gallery, the response was less graceful: acrid shrieks of 'c**t', 'ugly bastard', and 'murderer'. In the dock, the usually stroppy-faced Hassan Sentamu, now facing an inevitable life sentence, shed his first tears.

After 11 hours and 42 minutes - what must have felt like an age for the 15-year-old Croydon schoolgirl's family - Sentamu was convicted of murder. His defence of diminished responsibility due to autism left enough doubt for two jurors to remain unconvinced, but a majority direction sealed his fate. The prosecution's characterisation of an atrocity committed in 'white hot anger' burned brightest.

This afternoon (Thursday, March 13), Sentamu returns to the Old Bailey to find out how long he will be in prison before the Parole Board can even consider letting him out.

With much of the trial focussing on Sentamu's autism, mental health, and difficult upbringing, those are likely to be at the forefront of any mitigation put before Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb.

The prosecution is likely to focus on Sentamu's culpability too, including his decision to bring a knife, whether it was a revenge attack in response to being publicly shamed by Elianne and her friends the day before, and his attempts to hide the murder weapon.

MyLondon will be reporting live from the well of Court 7, including any victim impact statements from Elianne's family and the judge's sentencing remarks.

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