Latest news with #TomLittle
Sky News
17 hours ago
- Sky News
Hainault trial latest: Marcus Arduini Monzo accused of attempted murder van attack, victim describes impact
Iwule told boy to 'go back in' after collision Donato Iwule says he stayed in the general area where he was struck after the collision. Asked if he then saw a boy walking along road, he says he did. Prosecutor Tom Little KC asks if he shouted directly at him and Iwule says he did, adding that he shouted: "Go back in!" Iwule says he later saw the boy was on the ground. Defence cross-examines Iwules Now, the defence is cross-examining and asks: "What position were you in when you were injured to the neck?" Iwule says he was standing upright. He is asked whether the comments "I don't care, I'm going to kill you" are the only words Monzo made to him. "Yes," Iwule replies. Questioned on the volume of Monzo's voice, Iwule replies: "He just said it. It wasn't a high volume." Iwule then goes on to describe how Monzo tried to follow him. "He came out the front garden. From there, he went back to the van," he adds. Monzo came at victim with samurai sword, court hears After the collision, Iwule says he got up and Monzo came towards him with a samurai sword. He gestures to the court how Monzo waved the weapon and says: "He came towards me." Iwule says he told the man driving the van "I don't know you" multiple times. But the driver responded: "I don't care, I'm going to kill you." In the dock, Monzo tilts his head down as the witness says this. Iwule goes on to describe how he raised his hands to protect himself and then moved his head and looked back for an escape route but was "cornered", as the sword struck his neck. "I was in shock straight away, I saw blood coming out of my neck. I pressed my phone to my neck," he says. 'I realised it was coming towards me': Victim says he thought he was dying after van impact Donato Iwule is on the witness stand and is being asked questions by prosecutor Tom Little KC. At the start of his evidence, the judge reassures Iwule the court does not doubt that he was hit by a van. "We know the van hit you - everyone's seen it, everyone agrees," the judge says. Iwule says he had arrived at Hainault underground station at around 6.45am and was intending to go to a local Co-op store on 30 April, where he worked. Iwule says he noticed the van around "10 seconds" before it hit him. Asked if he noticed anything about the driver, he says: "I noticed the speed. I realised it was coming towards me." Iwule says he tried to "go to his left or right" to get out of the way of the van. Little notes that Iwule is wearing glasses in court and goes on to ask: "Where you wearing them on the day?" "Yes," Iwule replies, before adding that the glasses came off his face when he was struck. Iwule says the van struck his "face", "left knee", and "shoulder", before he fell to the ground. Asked what happened next after he hit the ground, Iwule tells the court he thought he was dying. Monzo buried his head in his hands as 'freaking sexy' sword video was shown Mollie Malone, our home news correspondent, is in court today. Here, she describes the moment the video of Monzo unboxing a sword was shown to the jury earlier. Marcus Monzo, who is accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy and injuring several others as part of a series of alleged sword attacks, was in the dock in Court 7 at the Old Bailey as jurors were shown a series of clips by the prosecution. He had his head buried in his hands as a clip was played from the 4 April 2024, which the prosecution says was downloaded from his iPhone, and shows Marcus Monzo unboxing a sword. "This just came through… Ninja stuff," a man dressed in a yellow jumper stood beside a cat can be heard saying in the video. The man goes on: "This is handmade in Japan, it took more than a month to reach me. "Freaking sexy". The court was later shown a series of CCTV clips from the morning of the 30 April 2024 - the day of the attacks. There are audible screams on one video clip as a grey transit van is shown colliding with a pedestrian, Donato Iwule. Monzo watched from the dock as these clips were shown. Jury now coming back to resume hearing Jurors have now made their way back to court, with proceedings back under way. Court taking short break The judge has said he expects proceedings to resume at 12.10pm. Clips show Monzo get back into van after collision The jury are continuing to be shown a series of clips - these show Monzo getting back into the grey van after hitting Donato Iwule, the police witness says. Another clip shows Iwule clutching his hand and walking along a pavement after the collision. Footage captures Monzo driving into Iwule, court hears Now, the jury are being shown a number of clips of Monzo apparently driving the dark grey van into Donato Iwule. The footage is a mixture of CCTV and doorbell camera clips. The clips show the collision from several different angles, which is more than what was shown in court last week. After Monzo allegedly struck him with a van, Iwule can be heard screaming repeatedly. The court heard last week that Monzo's grey van drove into Iwule at the junction with Laing Close at 6.51am on 30 April 2024. It struck with "such force" that it sent him and the van into a garden, smashing a fence and a concrete post. CCTV clips show route van used to drive into Donato Iwule took on day of attacks, court hears A Metropolitan Police officer is now giving evidence in court and tells the jury the force has reviewed in excess of 100 hours of CCTV footage for this case. The prosecution explains the jury will be taken through a series of CCTV clips in order. The first shows a dark grey van, parked on a street early on Tuesday 30 April 2024, with a figure dressed in yellow emerging from the left and opening the front passenger door of the vehicle. The police officer tells the jury the man - who he believes is Monzo - reveals a large rectangular shaped object from the van. The second, very short, clip is at the same location. Again, the Met officer says the man can be seen at the van. Subsequent clips show the route the dark grey van took on the day of the attacks. For context: We heard last week that Donato Iwule had left Hainault station just before 6.45am on 30 April 2024 to walk to the Co-op, where he worked. As he approached the junction with Laing Close at 6.51am, Monzo's grey van drove directly at Iwule. It struck with "such force" that it sent him and the van into a garden, smashing a fence and a concrete post. Monzo 'was talented martial artist' Now, jurors are hearing a witness statement from the part-owner of a martial arts club in Hackney, where Monzo was previously a member. In his statement, the owner describes Monzo as a "talented martial artist", particularly in Ju Jitsu. But he left the club in 2023 - around seven years after he joined. The court hears that at the time that he left, Monzo was "quieter" and "trained less regularly".
Sky News
20 hours ago
- Sky News
Hainault trial latest: Man Marcus Arduini Monzo is accused of attempting to murder in van attack to give evidence
Key points What happened in court last week? The prosecution opened its case against Marcus Arduini Monzo last week. Here is a quick recap of what we learnt: 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; 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"; It is alleged that the first attack was when Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into Donato Iwule; Daniel Anjorin was wearing headphones and school sports clothes when he left home for school at 7am; The schoolboy sustained a "devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury to the left hand side of his face and neck" from the sword, the prosecutor said, when Monzo attacked "like a predator" from behind; Little described the wound as "essentially a near-decapitation"; 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; She sustained "significant injuries" that could have "easily" killed her, the prosecutor added; On the day of the attacks, Monzo was "intoxicated from drug use"; The defendant is said to have attacked a couple in their bedroom, after breaking into their home, with only the sound of a young girl crying stopping him from killing them, according to the prosecution; Monzo "killed and skinned" a cat before the attacks, the court heard, and he used that same sword to kill Daniel; 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. We're back with our coverage We're back with our coverage of the trial of Marcus Arduini Monzo, which is due to resume shortly. The 37-year-old Spanish-Brazilian national, from Newham, is charged with murdering Daniel Anjorin, 14, during a 20-minute spree of attacks in Hainault, northeast London, on 30 April last year. Monzo is accused of murder, four counts of attempted murder and one count of wounding with intent, along with one charge of aggravated burglary. In total, he is charged with a total of 10 offences, eight of which he denies. Today, the court will hear from Donato Iwule, who Monzo is accused of attempting to murder with his grey Ford Transit van, by driving into him at speed. The pedestrian was knocked into a nearby garden on Laing Close and the vehicle smashed a concrete pillar and fence, the court heard last week. The defendant then got out of his vehicle and struck Iwule in the neck with the sword, jurors were told. Footage played to the court appeared to feature Iwule wailing and later running away after the alleged murder attempt. Shortly afterwards, Daniel Anjorin was making his way to school when Monzo is accused of "moving quickly like a predator" towards him and fatally striking him with the sword from behind. Recap: What we learned in nine bullet points as proceedings finish for the day The jury has been dismissed and won't be brought back to court until Monday, when the trial resumes. Until then, here is a quick recap of what we heard today - but be advised that some of these details are particularly distressing: The prosecution opened its case against Marcus Arduini Monzo, who they accuse of killing 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin; On the day of the attacks - during which he's alleged to have tried to kill four others - he was "intoxicated from drug use"; But this was a "clear case of murder", said Tom Little KC, who showed the jury several videos; One clip showed Monzo's first alleged victim hit by a van and chased by the defendant, with the man shouting "I don't know you"; Monzo then "moved quickly like a predator" to swing his sword at Daniel from behind as the boy wore headphones while walking to school; The defendant is then said to have attacked a couple in their bedroom, after breaking into their home, with only the sound of a young girl crying stopping him from killing them, according to the prosecution; Monzo "killed and skinned" a cat before the attacks, the court heard, and he used that same sword to almost decapitate Daniel; He was "acutely psychotic" on the day, Little said, and "informed by delusional beliefs he and his family are in mortal danger"; A few members of the jury were "visibly distressed", the judge said, and one was swapped out of concern for their wellbeing; The prosecution suggested the legal arguments of the trial will focus on whether or not Monzo can use the defence of diminished responsibility for his murder trial. What is Monzo charged with? Tom Little KC, for the prosecution, has been explaining the charges to the jury in the last few minutes. During a plea hearing at the Old Bailey last month, Marcus Arduini Monzo pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing an offensive weapon - a katana sword and a tanto katana sword. The 37-year-old was charged with 10 offences in total, eight of which he still denies. This includes the murder of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin, as well as four counts of attempted murder - of Donato Iwule, Sindy Arias, Henry De Los Rios Polania and PC Yasmin Margaret Mechem-Whitfield. Little suggests the defence will be using the argument of diminished responsibility - which would reduce the murder offence to one of manslaughter. "We know that the defendant killed Daniel," Little tells the jurors. He adds the defence has the burden of proof to show the jury Monzo did not mean to murder Daniel - to show them that it was more likely than not that he did not intend to commit murder. Monzo's also charged with wounding Inspector Moloy Campbell with intent. In addition, he's charged with, and denies, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article relating to a kitchen knife. Little also explained to jurors that burglary is not just the offence of someone breaking into a property to steal something - and that it can also be someone entering a home with a weapon with the intent to cause harm, as is the allegation in this case. Monzo had 'delusional belief he and his family were in mortal danger' Monzo's mental state and use of drugs is now the focus of the prosecution's opening. Citing a medical review of Monzo, Tom Little KC says he was "acutely psychotic" on the day of the offences. The attacks were "informed by delusional beliefs he and his family are in mortal danger", he adds. He says Monzo also believed he was in a "battle" with evil forces in a time of "Armageddon" or "revelation". Cannabis was identified in his urine and blood after the offences, Little says, and he suffered an "abnormality" in "mental functioning". The prosecution adds he is "fit to plea", and that "defence of insanity" does not apply. Police officer struck with 'extreme force' Tom Little KC is now going through the injuries sustained by those who survived the attacks that day. He highlighted PC Yasmin Margaret Mechem-Whitfield's injuries in particular, the police officer who Monzo is accused of attacking with a sword. She sustained a six-centimetre wound to the side of her temple, a 15cm wound from her shoulder to her elbow and a six-centimetre injury on her forearm. The blows here were of "extreme force", he says, which were "consistent with the footage" shown in court earlier. Jury now coming back to resume hearing Jurors have now made their way back to court, with proceedings back under way. One juror will be excused from duty once the prosecution's opening is over, after raising concerns over the impact of distressing details on her wellbeing. Tom Little KC, who is prosecuting, is now continuing his opening. Court breaks for lunch We'll bring you more updates from the trial shortly, when the jury returns and the prosecution continues making its opening argument. Warning: Details of deadly sword attack heard in court The jury is now hearing about the findings of the post-mortem examination on Daniel Anjorin. Warning: This post contains some graphic details from that post-mortem report. The post-mortem exam found Daniel, 14, suffered a "shocking injury" to the "entire left hand side of his head", the court now hears. This was a "chopping injury", Tom Little KC says, which is distinct from a knife wound. It happens when a blade strikes parallel to the skin, rather than across, and usually happens with a heavy weapon - heavier than a knife, Little says. In this case, that's a sword, he adds. Injury was 'unsurvivable' Little already said at the very start of his opening statement that Daniel's injuries were "unsurvivable". He repeats that again now - going into more detail, taken from the post-mortem. The blow from the sword caused a "near-decapitation", he says, and a deep wound to Daniel's neck. Before breaking for lunch, Little tells the jury they will not be shown the graphic injuries suffered by Daniel or any other victims. Instead, they will be given computer-generated pictures, so they can understand the injuries. Monzo 'killed and skinned cat' before attacks, court hears A police officer was left bleeding from an artery in his hand, Tom Little KC says. Another video clip played to the jury shows a man cornered between some garages, swinging his sword. He hit Inspector Moloy Campbell with the sword, Little says, causing the injury to his hand. Little says he must have intended to cause serious harm. The footage also shows Campbell swing his baton towards Monzo, while other officers pepper spray the defendant. Little then adds there was blood on Monzo's sword that did not belong to a human. That, he says, was from the blood of a cat he killed and then skinned.
The Independent
6 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.
Straits Times
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Straits Times
Welsh Harvard student, caught up in Trump visa fight, fears he may never return
Harvard student Alfred Williamson, who comes from Wales, stands in a street in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/ Tom Little Harvard student Alfred Williamson, who comes from Wales, stands in a street in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/ Tom Little Harvard student Alfred Williamson, who comes from Wales, talks during an interview in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/ Tom Little Harvard student Alfred Williamson, who comes from Wales, stands in a street in Copenhagen, Denmark, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/ Tom Little COPENHAGEN - When Alfred Williamson packed his bags to travel to Denmark for summer break after a whirlwind first year at Harvard University, he could not wait to return. Now, the Welsh student fears he may never go back - one of thousands of international students caught in U.S. President Donald Trump's battle with the Ivy League institution, which has centred on preventing Harvard from enrolling or retaining international students. Many students have told Reuters they are worried about complaining, for fear of being targeted by the U.S. authorities, and while Williamson said he shared those fears, he felt he had an obligation to speak out. "When people start to self-silence, we are no longer living in a democracy," he told Reuters in Copenhagen where he was staying with family. "For me, it's absolutely critical that I voice my opinion so that we preserve these values that America was founded on. In fact, the ideals of freedom and rights." Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has repeatedly attacked Ivy League schools, accusing Harvard of fostering violence, antisemitism and coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party, without providing evidence. Last week, his administration revoked Harvard's ability to enrol international students and said it would force current foreign students to transfer to other schools or they would lose their legal status, in a dramatic escalation of the dispute. UTTER SHOCK "When the news hit, I was in complete and utter shock," said Williamson, an undergraduate who is working towards a double major in physics and government and who described his first year as the best year of his life. "I didn't know how to respond; I didn't know what to feel; I didn't know what to think; I didn't know if I'd be an illegal immigrant suddenly, or as they describe people like us, aliens. It was very devastating news." Harvard, where international students make up more than a quarter of enrolment, filed a lawsuit last week challenging the order. A federal judge has issued a temporary two-week injunction, but the uncertainty persists. Williamson said he hadn't heard anything about his visa, but knew that some classmates had struggled to get renewals. He said he appreciated Harvard's response, and the support it had shown to international students at the university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has emerged as one of Trump's most prominent institutional targets. "That's the only way you can deal with someone like Trump," he said. "He will make demand after demand. One demand will turn into three, and three will turn into five." Williamson said he was not willing to contemplate the prospect of transferring to a different university, and despite the fears he has over the administration, he is desperate to stay at Harvard, arguing that the international community contributes a lot to the U.S. But he said the current situation is deeply uncomfortable: "We're being used like pawns in the game that we have no control of, and we're being caught in this crossfire between the White House and Harvard, and it feels incredibly dehumanising." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Greenland candidate campaigns for better healthcare after beating cancer in Denmark
By Tom Little NUUK (Reuters) -As Greenland's general election approaches, a candidate campaigns for access to better healthcare on the vast island, recounting his personal journey of beating cancer after having to travel to Denmark from a remote town to undergo treatment. "It's always about the budget ... I want to have the human before the economy or the budget," Justus Hansen, 57, a candidate for Greenland's centre-right Demokraatit party said. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. While independence has taken centre stage in Greenland's election debate after renewed U.S. interest in the island, healthcare has long been a core issue, with vast distances and shortage of staff making it costly and difficult to give Greenlanders access to the care they need. Hansen said he went to the hospital in his hometown of Tasiilaq on the eastern coast of Greenland, after feeling exhausted. He was sent home after an initial consultation, he said, and when he returned after a week's time, he insisted on having his blood sample taken, which revealed a high level of infection. "I have lost a lot of my own friends and family to cancer because they get diagnosed too late," Hansen said. He was eventually sent to Nuuk from Tasiilaq - a journey across the ice cap of more than 680 kilometres (423 miles), involving travel by plane and helicopter - as the capital is the only place where Greenlanders can get a CT scan. There, in January last year, he was diagnosed with renal cancer. "I felt terrified. It's like a death sentence for me because my own mother died of cancer," he said. Hansen said he had to wait six weeks in Greenland after being diagnosed with cancer before he could go to Denmark for treatment. Hansen spent three months in Copenhagen for his first treatment, and returned to Denmark for two further periods of two months respectively to receive treatment after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in October. Now, free of cancer, his experiences have fuelled his campaign for more doctors in Greenland's regional hospitals, improved healthcare in remote areas, and the installation of CT scanners in every regional hospital. While Hansen feels strongly about Greenland becoming independent, he is cautious about a swift transition. "We have to have more educated people," he said. "Also, the economy will have to be much stronger than it is today before we can even talk about independence."
