Father reveals devastating moment he found his son dead in the street after he was brutally hacked to death by Samurai swordsman

Daily Mail​

a day ago

The father of a schoolboy murdered during a 20-minute samurai sword rampage has described the devastating moment he found his son fatally injured as he laid bare his family's 'pain and anguish'.
Daniel Anjorin, 14, was cut down as he was walking to school by drug-crazed Marcus Monzo, 37, who believed he was an assassin from a Hollywood film, leaving four others injured.
High on cannabis which 'led to a psychotic disorder', the Brazilian shouted 'Does anyone believe in God' as he attacked four strangers after 'chopping' Daniel to death in Hainault, East London.
Dr Ebenezer Anjorin, Daniel's father, spoke of the grief which had ripped his family apart in a victim impact statement read at Monzo's sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey today.
In a statement read to the court by prosecutor Tom Little KC, he said: 'On April 20 at approximately 7am Daniel left for school. At approximately 7.15am I was informed by my son that Daniel had been stabbed on the road near our house.
'I ran outside of the house and as I ran across the road I saw a hunched-up body. I didn't realise it was Daniel at first.
'He was lying in a pool of blood with a large cut to his face. He was motionless. At once I knew he was dead.'
Dr Anjorin said he rang his wife to tell her what had happened and saw her collapse screaming as she saw paramedics treating her son. They were then told by the paramedic that their son's condition was critical and he was unlikely to survive.
'I cannot begin to describe the pain and anguish we as a family feel at the loss of Daniel,' he said.
He described Daniel as a talented student who had recently been chosen as part of a select group to visit Cambridge University to learn about the application process.
Dr Anjorin described his family's devastation that they will never be able to see Daniel grow up when he had 'so much potential to excel in so many areas'.
'All these hopes and aspirations have been snatched away from us,' he said.
'The situation is something we wouldn't wish on anyone - it is the worst experience of our lives.'
The Old Bailey heard the amateur musician believed he was a character from The Hunger Games, in which contestants fight to the death on a TV show.
A jury this week found him guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated burglary by entering a property with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and having an article with a blade.
Monzo began his rampage around 6.45am on April 30 last year using a van to mow down his first victim, Donald Iwule, who was walking to work when he was hit and catapulted into a nearby garden.
Jurors were shown CCTV of Mr Iwule screaming in agony shouting: 'I don't know you' as Monzo approached on foot wielding the 60cm blade.
The Brazilian replied: 'I don't care, I will kill you' as he swung towards the victim's neck and torso before Mr Iwule managed to escape.
Monzo then encountered schoolboy Daniel.
Mr Little, KC, previously told the court: 'He was simply walking to school, minding his own business, looking forward to the day ahead. His life was snuffed out in an instant. In fact, most accurately, he was slain by the defendant.'
Monzo was said to have 'moved quickly like a predator behind Daniel. He lifted the sword above his head, swung it downwards towards Daniel's head and neck area. Daniel instantly fell to the ground.'
The attack was described as a 'near decapitation'.
In mobile phone footage a woman can be heard saying: 'F***, he just killed that boy, he just killed him right outside my house.'
A female police officer, Yasim Mechem-Whitfield, pursued Monzo through a series of alleyways before he launched a 'ferocious attack', striking her three times.
He then charged into a nearby house and attacked a couple in their bedroom, but their lives were spared when their four-year-old daughter woke up and started crying.
Monzo's rampage only ended when he was surrounded by officers in a garage area and tasered.
Another officer who was injured as he ran to confront Monzo said today that there was 'no time for fear' because lives were on the line.
Before Mr Campbell's arrival on the morning of April 30 last year, Monzo had already repeatedly struck Pc Mechem-Whitfield with a samurai sword and was still on the loose.
Inspector Moloy Campbell - who was in court to see Monzo sentenced said in an interview ahead of the hearing: 'As we were heading to the incident my sergeant was driving and I was in the operator seat.
'As we heard that transmission 'police officer stabbed, police officer stabbed' I turned to him and said: 'Just get us there, don't speed up, don't let red mist get to you. We need to get there and get control of this incident'.'
He added: 'There was no time for fear. That is not a reflection of bravery of me or anyone else, it's a fact, there was no time for that.
The killer's sword got so close to slashing Inspector Moloy Campbell's chest that he cut off part of his body-word camera after he blocked the katana with his police-issue baton
'There is a job to be done and there was an objective that needed to be met and that was, as I say, the preservation of life.'
Mr Little said it was a 'miracle' that more people were not killed that day.
Another victim, Henry Polania, came face to face with Monzo in his bedroom after the killer broke into his home.
He believes Monzo only spared their lives because his terrified four-year-old daughter began to cry.
Speaking about the moment he was confronted with the drug-crazed killer, Mr Polania told Sky News: 'He grabbed the sword with both of his hands and went backwards with such force and tried to cut the head off my wife.
'I was like I can't let this happen. In my mind, I was like, I can't let this happen. So I just tried to stop him.
'I pulled my hands towards the blade and stop him. I tried to push the blade, but I couldn't because it was too quick. How can I explain? It was like, that's it.
'I looked at my hand and it was all open. You could see my bones. I was bleeding, at the moment I thought oh my God, this is not a dream, this is real life. He's going to kill us.'
Speaking to the BBC, he continued: 'My little one started crying after she woke up, 'Mama, Papa!' I just started crying.
'And then Monzo done two steps back because he wasn't expecting the little one in the room.
'And he just pointed the katana towards my little one's face and then to Carolina and then to me.
'And he said: 'I'm just going to let you live, because of your little one.' And he left.'