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Sky News
4 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Hainault murder accused had 'clear intention' to kill 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin in sword attack, court told
The man accused of murdering 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin had a "clear intention to kill" during a series of drug-fuelled sword attacks, a jury has heard at the Old Bailey. Marcus Monzo denies murdering the teenager who was on his way to school after leaving his home in Hainault, east London, at 7am on 30 April last year. The 37-year-old Spanish-Brazilian national, from Newham, is accused of murder, four counts of attempted murder and one count of wounding with intent, among other offences. Mr Monzo is charged with a total of 10 offences, eight of which he denies. 'Near-decapitation' Prosecutor Tom Little KC, outlining the case against Monzo, said the accused had a "clear intention" to kill several people during a series of attacks which lasted 20 minutes. Mr Little told the jury that Daniel was "simply walking to school" when he was "slain" with a sword, which he described as 60cm in length, and as a "lethal weapon". This weapon, he said, was used to attack Daniel from behind, slashing his neck, before stabbing him in the chest once he was on the ground. Mr Monzo had "quickly moved like a predator", the prosecutor told the court. The initial blow, he said, was a "devastating" and "unsurvivable chopping injury" to the left side of Daniel's face, causing a "near-decapitation". First alleged victim Mr Little told the jury that before allegedly murdering Daniel that day, the defendant drove a grey van directly into a man called Donato Iwule, who was walking to the Co-op, where he worked. The vehicle struck with "such force" that it sent Iwule and the van into a garden, smashing a fence and a concrete post. The court was shown footage of Monzo getting out of the van and confronting Iwule, who shouted, "I don't know you" to the defendant. Following a brief chase, Mr Little said, the accused "swings" a sword towards Iwule's neck and then torso. However, Iwule escaped, and it was "remarkable" he was not killed or significantly injured, Little said. Police officers with 'significant injuries' The defendant is also accused of injuring police officers who came to Hainault to help Daniel. It's alleged he jumped out at PC Yasmin Margaret Mechem-Whitfield, causing "significant injuries". PC Mechem-Whitfield "bravely pursued" the accused, the prosecutor added, and was hit three times by the sword. 'Do you believe in God?' The jury also heard that Monzo broke into a family home - "not to hide", Mr Little said, but because he wanted to "kill more". Monzo entered a small bedroom where Sindy Arias and Henry De Los Rios Polania were asleep with their four-year-old daughter, and allegedly asked them: "Do you believe in God?" "What happened there must have been horrifying and confusing," Mr Little told the court, as Monzo attempted to swing his sword at both Mr De Los Rios Polania and Ms Arias. Mr Little said that the defendant "must have intended to kill both", but was "stopped in his tracks" by the sound of a crying four-year-old who had been woken up by the commotion. He then left the property. A second officer, Inspector Moloy Campbell, was allegedly stabbed with a sword during an attempt to apprehend Monzo and injured his hand. The defendant was eventually detained while trying to climb onto a garage to escape. He also "killed and skinned" a cat before the attacks, Mr Little told the court. 'Diminished responsibility' The prosecutor told the jury that the defence will be using the argument of diminished responsibility, which would reduce the murder offence to one of manslaughter. Mr Little added that the defence has the burden of proof to show the jury that their client did not mean to murder Daniel, and that it was more likely than not that he did not intend to commit murder. He also said that Monzo allegedly smoked cannabis that morning - described as a "self-induced intoxication" - and likely suffered from a psychotic disorder with "schizophrenic-like symptoms", including "delusional beliefs" that both he and his family were in "mortal danger". However, Mr Little argued, this won't be enough to diminish Monzo's responsibility. The prosecutor said the defendant was "fit to plead", and so the "defence of insanity" does not apply.
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Man allegedly murdered boy, 14, with sword in ‘brutal string of attacks'
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.
Sky News
4 days ago
- General
- Sky News
Hainault trial opens - as it happened: Marcus Arduini Monzo appears in court accused of killing 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin in sword attack
Marcus Arduini Monzo is accused of using a sword to kill 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin as the youngster walked to school. It was part of an alleged rampage in northeast London that left four others injured. Monzo denies the charges against him. Follow the latest from the Old Bailey.
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Health
- Telegraph
Swordsman accused of murdering schoolboy ‘became psychotic after taking cannabis'
A man who murdered a 14-year-old schoolboy with a Japanese sword experienced psychotic episodes after taking cannabis, a court has heard. Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, believed 'he was in a battle against evil forces' when he allegedly stabbed Daniel Anjorin as he walked to school in Hainault, north-east London, on April 30 last year. He is said to have 'moved quickly like a predator' behind Daniel before inflicting a 'devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury' to his face and neck. The Spanish-Brazilian national, from Newham, east London, is also accused of attacking four others, including two police officers, during a 20-minute rampage. He has denied eight of the 10 charges against him, including murder. A trial at the Old Bailey heard on Wednesday that Mr Monzo's mental state had been 'materially altered' by cannabis use and, at the time of the alleged attack, he had 'developed a cannabis induced fully fledged psychotic episode characterised by reality distortion symptoms'. Tom Little KC, prosecuting, said Mr Monzo was 'informed by his delusional beliefs that he and his family were in mortal danger, and that he was engaged in a battle against evil forces at a time of revelation or Armageddon'. He said cannabis was identified in Mr Monzo's urine and blood samples after the incident and a 'large amount' of cannabis was also found in a search of his house along with a 'skinned and deboned cat'. Mr Little, quoting forensic psychiatrist Prof Nigel Blackwood, who will later be called by the prosecution, said: 'In Prof Blackwood's opinion, cannabis misuse appears to have been the principal driver of his mental state deterioration at this time. 'The violence would not, in Prof Blackwood's opinion, have happened in the absence of such voluntary substance misuse.' Mr Monzo appeared in the dock wearing a bright green jumper with short, cropped hair and stubble. He looked furtively around the court at times and spoke often to security guards sitting on either side of him. Daniel's family were also in the court. Mr Little said Mr Monzo had left his home just before 6.30am in his van, wearing a yellow Quiksilver hoodie, black trousers, and black shoes. He said the attack started at about 6.51am when he drove his van into Donato Iwule, a pedestrian in Laing Close, causing him to be 'catapulted some distance into a garden'. Video footage of the incident was played to the jury, in which Mr Iwule, who had been walking to a Co-Op store where he worked, can be heard screaming in pain. Mr Monzo allegedly then left the vehicle and approached Mr Iwule with a samurai sword. Mr Little said: 'Donato Iwule shouted at him 'I don't know you' and the defendant said 'I don't care, I will kill you'. 'That comment from the defendant tells you, you may think, everything you need to know about his intention that morning.' Mr Monzo is alleged to have swung his sword at Mr Iwule's neck and torso, but he was able to roll away and escape over a fence. 'If he had not managed to escape, it seems inevitable that he too would have been killed,' said Mr Little. Mr Monzo is then said to have driven further down Laing Close before exiting the vehicle. At this time, the court heard that Daniel had left his home and was walking to school wearing sports clothes, his backpack, and headphones. Mr Little said: 'The defendant had obviously seen him and the defendant then moved quickly like a predator behind Daniel Anjorin. 'He lifted the sword above his head and then swung it downwards towards Daniel's head and neck area. 'Daniel instantly fell to the ground. The defendant then leant over him and used the sword again to injure Daniel.' He added: 'The force used was extreme. It involved a devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury to the left-hand side of Daniel's face and neck'. Mr Monzo is then said to have taken off Daniel's backpack, dragging the schoolboy's body along the road in the process. The court heard that emergency services had been called to the scene at this time. Mr Monzo is said to have then attacked Pc Yasmin Margaret Mechem-Whitfield, who pursued him down a series of alleyways behind residential properties while he was still armed. He is then alleged to have entered a nearby house where he attacked a couple in their bedroom. Mr Little said the couple's lives had been spared only because 'their four-year-old child woke up and started crying'. He said there were many police officers in the area at that time, and that Mr Monzo then became 'surrounded in a garage area nearby to the other attacks', where he attacked another police officer. Mr Monzo was finally disarmed and detained after he climbed onto the roof of the garage, he said. Asked about the attack in a police interview, Mr Monzo said his personality switched and that 'something happened, like a game happening', and it was like 'the movie Hunger Games'. Mr Little said: 'He said that one of his personalities is a professional assassin.' In court last month, Mr Monzo denied eight of the 10 charges against him but admitted two counts of having an offensive weapon – a katana sword and a tanto katana sword. He also pleaded not guilty to the attempted murders of Mr Iwule, Sindy Arias, Henry De Los Rios Polania and Pc Mechem-Whitfield as well as wounding Insp Moloy Campbell with intent. Mr Monzo denied aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article relating to a kitchen knife. The trial continues.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Man killed Daniel Anjorin, 14, during sword rampage in east London, jury told
A man armed with a large sword murdered a boy who was on his way to school and attempted to kill four others in a 'brutal' early morning series of attacks, a jury has heard. Marcus Monzo, 37, denies all charges including the murder of Daniel Anjorin, 14, in Hainault, east London, in April 2024. The Old Bailey was told that at the time of the 20-minute rampage, Monzo had a psychotic disorder triggered by cannabis use. During the string of attacks he moved like a 'predator' intent on killing as many people as possible, the court heard. He attacked a couple with a young child in their home, and police officers who tried to detain him were slashed at and injured. Opening the case, Tom Little KC said: 'This case involves a brutal string of attacks with murderous intent primarily committed with the use of a large sword. It occurred over a period of only about 20 minutes, early in the morning of 30 April last year … The prosecution say that there was a clear intention to kill a number of people that morning on the defendant's part. It did not matter who they were, or indeed how old they were.' The jury was shown the sword used in the incidents, with a curved blade 60cm in length. Monzo, who knew none of the victims, came across Daniel moments after he left his home wearing headphones at about 7am, the court heard. Little said: 'He was just 14 years of age at the time. He had left home and was simply walking to school, minding his own business, no doubt looking forward to the day ahead when he was killed by the defendant. 'His life was snuffed out in an instant. In fact most accurately he was slain by the defendant with the use of this sword … The force used was extreme. It involved a devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury to the left hand side of Daniel's face and neck.' The violence started just before 7am when Monzo drove into someone with his van, the jury heard. The victim, Donato Iwule, who was on his way to work, was hit with such force he was catapulted into a nearby garden. He was then attacked with the sword. The jury saw and heard video footage from doorbell cameras that captured the victim's scream and were told he said to his attacker: 'I don't know you,' with Monzo replying: 'I don't care, I will kill you.' Monzo clutching the sword in both hands and swung it at Iwule, who survived after fleeing with the defendant chasing him, the jury heard. Little alleged that Monzo then attacked police officers including PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield, who was struck three times and suffered significant injuries. The violence continued, the court heard, with Monzo breaking into a house where a couple and their child were asleep. Little said: 'They were spared only because the four-year-old woke up and started crying.' At one point Monzo came face to face with a woman, standing on her foot, but she escaped, the jury heard. He also called the fire brigade during the rampage, the court was told. Little told the jury: 'There is no issue then that it was that man in the dock that carried out that string of attacks and who killed Daniel Anjorin and seriously injured a number of others. What you have to decide is very largely as straightforward as why he did so and what his state of mind was at the material time. 'The prosecution case is that this is a clear case of murder and that it is also a clear case of four attempted murders. We say that the defendant's conduct was brought about by self-induced intoxication in the form of drugs. This, we say, led to a psychotic disorder.' He added: 'The defence case is that the defendant was most likely suffering from a pre-existing condition … which created a vulnerability to experiencing psychotic episodes with schizophrenia-like symptoms, prompted by his use of cannabis.' Monzo denies murdering Daniel and attempting to murder Iwule, Mechem-Whitfield, and Sindy Arias and Henry De Los Rios Polania, whose home he denies breaking into in an alleged act of aggravated burglary. He also denies wounding with intent Insp Moloy Campbell, and possession of two swords and a kitchen knife. The case continues.
