Man allegedly murdered boy, 14, with sword in ‘brutal string of attacks'

Independent

4 days ago

A man allegedly murdered a 14-year-old boy with a Samurai sword in a 'brutal string of attacks' that were indiscriminate, a court has heard.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, is on trial charged with murdering Daniel Anjorin during a 20-minute spate of attacks in Hainault, north-east London, on April 30 last year.
He denies the charge as well as four counts of attempted murder.
None of the victims were known to Monzo and 'it did not matter who they were or indeed how old they were', prosecutor Tom Little KC told the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
He told jurors that they may conclude 'there can be little doubt that the defendant was intending to kill as many people as he could that day and that he is therefore just as guilty of the four charges of attempted murder as he is the charge of murder'.
Prior to the incident, Monzo had skinned and deboned his own cat, the prosecutor said.
It is alleged that the first attack was when Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into Donato Iwule.
The pedestrian was 'catapulted some distance' into a nearby garden on Laing Close and the vehicle smashed a concrete pillar and fence, the court heard.
The defendant then exited his vehicle and struck Mr Iwule in the neck with the sword, jurors were told.
Footage played to the court appeared to feature Mr Iwule wailing and later running away after the alleged murder attempt that started at 6.51am.
Mr Little told jurors: 'If he had not managed to escape it seems inevitable that he too would have been killed.'
The defendant then re-entered the badly damaged van and drove a short distance down Laing Close, the court heard.
Daniel was wearing headphones and school sports clothes when he left home for school at 7am and was 'slain' by Monzo, Mr Little claimed.
The schoolboy sustained a 'devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury to the left hand side of his face and neck' from the sword, the prosecutor added.
Mr Little described the wound as 'essentially a near-decapitation'.
Emergency services were called and police and paramedics arrived 'at the point and just after' the alleged attack.
Pc Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield pursued the armed defendant through a series of alleyways through residential properties, the court heard.
Monzo struck her three times with the sword that had a 60cm blade using 'extreme force', the prosecutor said.
She sustained 'significant injuries' that could have 'easily' killed her, he added.
Monzo is accused of then entering a nearby house through a backdoor and walking upstairs into a sleeping couple's bedroom and attacking them.
Their daughter was sleeping in a bed next to theirs and Mr Little said: 'They were spared only because in fact the four-year-old child woke up and started to cry.'
The defendant shouted to the couple on a number occasions, 'do you believe in god?' before leaving the property through the front door, the court heard.
Police had been following the defendant and he was backed into a nearby garage area near to the other alleged attacks, the court heard.
He is accused of then striking Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before attempting to escape police.
The defendant is said to have climbed on top a garage but he was eventually disarmed and arrested.
During police interview he initially answered 'no comment', but later recalled having a large sword, the court heard.
Monzo claimed his personality had switched and that 'something happened, like a game happening', Mr Little said.
The defendant compared the events to the movie The Hunger Games and said 'part of my lifestyle is to heal… been through traumatic events in childhood'.
He also told police that he had 'many personalities spread out' and that one of them is a 'professional assassin', the prosecution said.
Monzo denies Daniel's murder, and has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murders of Donato Iwule, Sindy Arias, Henry De Los Rios Polania and Pc Yasmin Margaret Mechem-Whitfield, as well as wounding Inspector Moloy Campbell with intent.
He also denies aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article relating to a kitchen knife.
That weapon was found in his van and had non-human blood on it which was linked to the killing of his cat, the court heard.
Monzo previously admitted two counts of having an offensive weapon, namely two swords.
Jurors were told these were the alleged murder weapon, and a Katana sword with a 22cm blade that was discovered in his van and had no blood on it.
Mr Little argued there is 'no issue in this trial as to who carried out this brutal string of attacks and what the defendant did on that fateful early morning'.
He said Monzo had been under the influence of cannabis, and that: 'We say that the defendant's conduct was brought about by self-induced intoxication in the form of drugs.
'We say this led to a psychotic disorder but not one meeting the requirements to make out the partial defence to murder of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.'
Drug-induced psychosis is not a recognised medical condition and cannot alone establish diminished responsibility, he said.
Psychiatrists will discuss whether Monzo met the threshold for a schizotypal disorder diagnosis, he added.
The trial continues.