Man who murdered Hainault schoolboy with sword to be sentenced

BBC News

5 hours ago

Update:
Date: 10:14 BST
Title: 'I'm no hero,' says officer slashed in Hainault sword attack
Content: Lucy ManningSpecial correspondent
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'He was slashing at me' - police officer who confronted Hainault sword attacker
We have interviewed Inspector Moloy Campbell, who engaged in face-to-face fighting with Marco Monzo, receiving a slash wound to his hand as he tried to disarm him.
He told us that he does not see himself as a hero, but he said his team of officers are "undoubtedly heroic" for their actions in stopping the attack.
Recalling the confrontation in April 2024, Insp Campbell told the BBC: "It's a natural instinct: fight or flight, and in that moment it was fight. There was emotion after the event and after it all died down, but there was no fear."
He added: "And I don't think there was much fear from anyone actually, because they're police officers and are expected to take action and that's hard drilled into them and they did it well."
Update:
Date: 10:11 BST
Title: Reporters and camera crews set up outside Old Bailey
Content: Cachella SmithReporting from the Old Bailey
I'm here at the Old Bailey in central London where we are expecting the sentencing hearing of Marcus Monzo to begin within the next hour.
The court will first hear submissions from the prosecution and defence teams before the judge actually passes down the sentence - which you'll be able to watch this afternoon from 14:00 BST.
On Wednesday, Monzo was found guilty of a number of offences - including the murder of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin and the attempted murder of three others - all of which took place in a series of attacks that lasted just over 20 minutes.
Since the attacks last year, the case has attracted a large amount of media attention.
I spotted two camera crews outside as I came in this morning, but there are already a number of journalists waiting outside the courtroom itself.
Update:
Date: 10:04 BST
Title: How a deadly attack unfolded in just 20 minutes
Content:
Update:
Date: 09:58 BST
Title: From conspiracy theorist to violent assailant – who is Marcus Monzo?
Content: After his arrest on 24 April 2024, Marcus Monzo sat for a series of police interviews. Throughout, police learned that the 37-year-old believed his personality had switched before the attack and he compared the events to the movie The Hunger Games.
He also told police that he had "many personalities" and that one of them was a "professional assassin". Before coming to the UK in 2013, Monzo grew up in Brazil.
While giving evidence in court, he admitted to being possession of two samurai swords, but insisted he could not remember attacking multiple people in a rampage across the streets of Hainault.
The court heard that the former Amazon driver was a martial arts enthusiast who believed in conspiracy theories - including ones about the Earth being flat and that the 9/11 attacks were fake.
His brother said he had changed after attending retreats in India and the Amazon where he drank ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea.
Both the prosecution and defence agreed Monzo had a psychotic disorder. But prosecutors said his behaviour was triggered "by self-induced intoxication in the form of drugs" through his use of cannabis, which led to the psychosis.
Monzo's defence claimed he was "most likely suffering from a pre-existing condition".
On the day of the attack, he strangled his cat and tried to eat it. That morning, Monzo said he had felt the onset of "something like Armageddon" and he believed "the world was collapsing".
Update:
Date: 09:51 BST
Title: 'We have lost the most loved and amazing son'
Content: Daniel Anjorin's father, who sat in court throughout the trial, spent several days listening to disturbing evidence about how his son was killed and watching the police videos of Monzo with his sword attacking others that day.
When Monzo received his guilty verdict this week, the father of Daniel Anjorin sat just feet away – occasionally wiping away tears.
The family of the 14-year-old boy released a statement after his death, saying that it was hard for them to fathom that Daniel had left the house for school on that spring morning 'and then he was gone'.
"Our children have lost their loving and precious brother and we have lost the most loved and amazing son," they said.
Update:
Date: 09:44 BST
Title: 'He's just killed that boy': How the Hainault attack unfolded
Content: Kirsty O'Connor, from CPS, said this week that their "hearts go out" to Daniel's family and friends who have suffered "his unimaginable loss in horrific circumstances"
As we've been reporting, Marcus Monzo is set to be sentenced today over the deadly attack he carried out in Hainault last year, during which he murdered 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin and injured several others.
The 37-year-old's rampage began on the morning of 30 April 2024 in the north-east London suburb. He first drove a van into a pedestrian and then slashed him in the neck, before turning his attention to Daniel, who he fatally wounded with a 60cm (24in) samurai sword.
Monzo then entered a nearby home where a couple and their four-year-old daughter were asleep, slashing a man on the arm before leaving the property.
He was cleared of one count of attempted murder in relation to this attack, but was found guilty of the lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
The court was told Monzo had gone into a cannabis-induced psychosis before the attack.
Giving evidence at his trial, he said he had no memory of what happened and claimed his mental state had diminished his responsibility for the crimes.
The prosecution argued that psychosis brought on by self-induced intoxication was no defence for murder.
Monzo was found guilty this week of murdering the schoolboy, along with several other offences - which we'll detail in full in our next few posts.
Update:
Date: 09:34 BST
Title: Man who murdered Hainault schoolboy with sword to be sentenced
Content: Lucy ManningReporting from the Old Bailey
I'm here outside the Old Bailey, where we'll soon hear the sentencing of Marcus Monzo.
The judge, Mr Justice Bennathan, has already told the Spanish-Brazilian national when he was found guilty of the murder of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin that he will face a life sentence today.
He now needs to set the minimum number of years that Monzo will serve.
Before that happens this afternoon, there will be emotional victim impact statements read to the court. The Anjorin family have lost their son Daniel, described as loving, hard working with a gentle character.
Others that day in Hainault nearly lost their lives. Both police officers and local residents have struggled to recover from physical injuries and mental trauma and we will hear more about that this morning.
During the three weeks of this trial, Daniel Anjorin's father sat and listened to the traumatic details of what unfolded in Hainault that morning.
The Anjorin family will see justice being done today, but Monzo took their son and brother from them just moments after he waved goodbye as he went to school.
I'll be inside the court from 10:30 BST alongside my colleagues to file updates, and then at 14:00 BST I'll be poised to bring you the first lines on Monzo's sentencing. Stick with us.