London Man Who Killed a Boy With a Samurai Sword Receives Life Sentence
A man who killed a 14-year-old boy last April as part of a 20-minute sword rampage through residential streets in London was given a life sentence on Friday.
Footage showed Marcos Arduini Monzo, the man, shouting, 'Is anybody here who believes in God?' and attacking police officers after killing the boy, who was walking to school.
Daniel Anjorin, the murdered boy, was killed yards away from his family home in Hainault, in northeast London, and was found, still wearing his school backpack, in the street by his father.
During the course of his rampage in the early morning of April 30, 2024, Mr. Monzo, 37, attacked several other people, including two police officers. He was convicted of murder and attempted murder, along with other offenses committed during the outbreak. On Friday, during a televised sentencing hearing, he was given a life sentence, with a minimum prison term of 40 years before he can be considered for parole.
'Over 20 minutes, a peaceful, busy scene was devastated as members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,' Judge Joel Bennathan said during the sentencing.
Mr. Monzo began his violence shortly after 7 a.m., when he was driving a van and struck a man who was walking to work. Mr. Monzo then got out of the van and attacked him with a large samurai sword.
After the injured victim was able to escape, Mr. Monzo ran up to Daniel Anjorin and attacked him from behind, the Metropolitan Police said. When an ambulance arrived on the scene, Mr. Monzo hit the vehicle with his sword, and then refused to drop his weapon when told to do so by police officers.
Police do not routinely carry firearms in Britain, and those at the scene were carrying batons and Tasers. Officers chased Mr. Monzo when he ran down an alleyway, but he turned and attacked a female officer, fracturing her skull.
He then entered a house and attacked a couple, who had been sleeping near their 4-year-old daughter. The father defended his wife with his arm, which was deeply cut, and Mr. Monzo left after the girl started crying.
Mr. Monzo was then cornered near a garage. A police officer fought him with a baton before Mr. Monzo was subdued with Tasers.
While Mr. Monzo had voiced support for a number of extremist positions on social media — including admiration for Adolf Hitler and belief in flat-Earth conspiracy theories — prosecutors did not say they believed he had any political motive for the attack. Instead, he was experiencing cannabis-induced psychosis at the time, and had killed and tried to eat his pet cat earlier that morning, prosecutors told his trial at London's Old Bailey court.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
5 hours ago
- New York Times
London Man Who Killed a Boy With a Samurai Sword Receives Life Sentence
A man who killed a 14-year-old boy last April as part of a 20-minute sword rampage through residential streets in London was given a life sentence on Friday. Footage showed Marcos Arduini Monzo, the man, shouting, 'Is anybody here who believes in God?' and attacking police officers after killing the boy, who was walking to school. Daniel Anjorin, the murdered boy, was killed yards away from his family home in Hainault, in northeast London, and was found, still wearing his school backpack, in the street by his father. During the course of his rampage in the early morning of April 30, 2024, Mr. Monzo, 37, attacked several other people, including two police officers. He was convicted of murder and attempted murder, along with other offenses committed during the outbreak. On Friday, during a televised sentencing hearing, he was given a life sentence, with a minimum prison term of 40 years before he can be considered for parole. 'Over 20 minutes, a peaceful, busy scene was devastated as members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,' Judge Joel Bennathan said during the sentencing. Mr. Monzo began his violence shortly after 7 a.m., when he was driving a van and struck a man who was walking to work. Mr. Monzo then got out of the van and attacked him with a large samurai sword. After the injured victim was able to escape, Mr. Monzo ran up to Daniel Anjorin and attacked him from behind, the Metropolitan Police said. When an ambulance arrived on the scene, Mr. Monzo hit the vehicle with his sword, and then refused to drop his weapon when told to do so by police officers. Police do not routinely carry firearms in Britain, and those at the scene were carrying batons and Tasers. Officers chased Mr. Monzo when he ran down an alleyway, but he turned and attacked a female officer, fracturing her skull. He then entered a house and attacked a couple, who had been sleeping near their 4-year-old daughter. The father defended his wife with his arm, which was deeply cut, and Mr. Monzo left after the girl started crying. Mr. Monzo was then cornered near a garage. A police officer fought him with a baton before Mr. Monzo was subdued with Tasers. While Mr. Monzo had voiced support for a number of extremist positions on social media — including admiration for Adolf Hitler and belief in flat-Earth conspiracy theories — prosecutors did not say they believed he had any political motive for the attack. Instead, he was experiencing cannabis-induced psychosis at the time, and had killed and tried to eat his pet cat earlier that morning, prosecutors told his trial at London's Old Bailey court.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Samurai sword murderer gets life in prison for a rampage that killed a London schoolboy last year
LONDON (AP) — A man armed with a samurai sword who murdered a London boy on his way to school during a rampage that seriously injured five other people was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Marcus Arduini Monzo was condemned as 'wicked' by Daniel Anjorin's father, who described the agony of finding his 14-year-old son crumpled in a pool of blood outside their home shortly after he'd left for school on April 30, 2024. 'It has been the worst nightmare experience of our lives," Dr. Ebenezer Anjorin said during the sentencing in the Central Criminal Court. "To have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a cruel and savage way. No family should have to go through this.' Monzo, 37, was convicted Wednesday of Anjorin's murder, along with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article. Justice Joel Bennathan set the scene of the crime on the streets of east London, where he said people had just set out for work and children were headed to school, when Monzo plowed his van into a pedestrian and unleashed a 20-minute frenzied attack that came to an end only after police used a stun gun to immobilize him. 'That peaceful, busy scene was devastated as members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword," Bennathan said. "You, Marcos Arduini Monzo, did all of that.' Prosecutors said that drug use triggered the psychotic episode that turned violent when Monzo killed his cat, Wizard, after voices in his head told him the pet was sapping his energy and he needed to kill and eat it. Before he could do that, though, he said he was overcome by feeling that Armageddon was imminent and he left his home in his van for his parent's house. On the way, he rammed his car into security guard Donato Iwule, who he attacked with the sword and said he was going to kill him. He slashed the man's neck, but Iwule was able to get away. Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, who was wearing headphones, and didn't hear a neighbor warning him of the swordsman. 'We were shouting and waving towards Daniel as he came out,' Aiste Dabasinskaite said after the attack. 'It just happened right before our eyes, it was horrible.' Monzo nearly beheaded the teen with the 2-foot (60-centimeter) blade and stabbed him as he lay on the ground. When police officers arrived and tried to help the boy, Monzo sprang from bushes nearby and bolted. Constable Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield gave chase and suffered what police said were 'brutal and life-changing' injuries including a fractured skull and severe nerve damage when he lunged at her. Monzo then broke into a nearby home, where he awoke a couple who had been sleeping with their 4-year-old daughter. He shouted about believing in God and attacked the girl's father, wounding his neck and arm. In his final act of violence, he struck police Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was subdued with a stun gun and arrested. Jurors determined Monzo was responsible for his actions after prosecutors argued that the attack was caused by his cannabis use, rather than an underlying mental health condition. Monzo, who has dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, said that an injury from mixed martial arts had led him on a spiritual quest and he consumed ayahuasca, a hallucinogen, and frequently smoked marijuana. Prosecutors said Monzo had an interest in violence, far-right extremism and conspiracy theories. He had shared vaccine misinformation and liked social media posts on X praising Adolf Hitler. Monzo told jurors he believed that the Earth was flat and that the 9/11 attack was 'probably' a conspiracy. He also spoke about his practice of drinking his own urine.
Los Angeles Times
7 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Man gets life in prison for killing a London schoolboy, injuring five others with a samurai sword
LONDON — A man armed with a samurai sword who murdered a London boy on his way to school during a rampage that seriously injured five other people was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Marcus Arduini Monzo was condemned as 'wicked' by Daniel Anjorin's father, who described the agony of finding his 14-year-old son crumpled in a pool of blood outside their home shortly after he'd left for school on April 30, 2024. 'It has been the worst nightmare experience of our lives,' Dr. Ebenezer Anjorin said during the sentencing in the Central Criminal Court. 'To have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a cruel and savage way. No family should have to go through this.' Monzo, 37, was convicted Wednesday of Anjorin's murder, along with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article. Justice Joel Bennathan set the scene of the crime on the streets of east London, where he said people had just set out for work and children were headed to school, when Monzo plowed his van into a pedestrian and unleashed a 20-minute frenzied attack that came to an end only after police used a stun gun to immobilize him. 'That peaceful, busy scene was devastated as members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,' Bennathan said. 'You, Marcos Arduini Monzo, did all of that.' Prosecutors said that drug use triggered the psychotic episode that turned violent when Monzo killed his cat, Wizard, after voices in his head told him the pet was sapping his energy and he needed to kill and eat it. Before he could do that, though, he said he was overcome by feeling that Armageddon was imminent and he left his home in his van for his parent's house. On the way, he rammed his car into security guard Donato Iwule, who he attacked with the sword and said he was going to kill him. He slashed the man's neck, but Iwule was able to get away. Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, who was wearing headphones, and didn't hear a neighbor warning him of the swordsman. 'We were shouting and waving towards Daniel as he came out,' Aiste Dabasinskaite said after the attack. 'It just happened right before our eyes, it was horrible.' Monzo nearly beheaded the teen with the 2-foot blade and stabbed him as he lay on the ground. When police officers arrived and tried to help the boy, Monzo sprang from bushes nearby and bolted. Constable Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield gave chase and suffered what police said were 'brutal and life-changing' injuries including a fractured skull and severe nerve damage when he lunged at her. Monzo then broke into a nearby home, where he awoke a couple who had been sleeping with their 4-year-old daughter. He shouted about believing in God and attacked the girl's father, wounding his neck and arm. In his final act of violence, he struck police Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was subdued with a stun gun and arrested. Jurors determined Monzo was responsible for his actions after prosecutors argued that the attack was caused by his cannabis use, rather than an underlying mental health condition. Monzo, who has dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, said that an injury from mixed martial arts had led him on a spiritual quest and he consumed ayahuasca, a hallucinogen, and frequently smoked marijuana. Prosecutors said Monzo had an interest in violence, far-right extremism and conspiracy theories. He had shared vaccine misinformation and liked social media posts on X praising Adolf Hitler. Monzo told jurors he believed that the Earth was flat and that the 9/11 attack was 'probably' a conspiracy. He also spoke about his practice of drinking his own urine. Melley writes for the Associated Press.
