Marcus Monzo: Hainault sword killer given life sentence for murder of schoolboy
A man who murdered a 14-year-old boy with a samurai sword as he walked to school in east London has been sentenced to life in prison.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, nearly decapitated Daniel Anjorin and attacked five others during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault on 30 April last year.
Mr Justice Bennathan told him he would serve a minimum of 40 years. Including time he has already served, it means he will be in prison for 38 years and 309 days before he is eligible for parole.
Prosecutors said he tried "to kill as many people as he could" while under the influence of cannabis after he skinned and deboned his pet cat Wizard.
Monzo, a Spanish-Brazilian national from Newham in east London, admitted two charges of possessing an offensive weapon relating to two swords, which he said he bought for display purposes.
He claimed he had no memory of carrying out the attacks and denied Daniel's murder along with four charges of attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
He was found guilty of Daniel's murder and three charges of attempted murder at the Old Bailey on Wednesday.
Monzo was cleared of one count of attempted murder - instead found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - and convicted of aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
During the trial, the jury was shown CCTV footage from the morning of the attack, with audible screams in one clip as Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into pedestrian Donato Iwule.
Mr Iwule told jurors: "I thought I was dying" and "I saw blood coming out of my neck", after he was struck with a sword before running away.
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Witnesses described how Monzo was running around "like a maniac" and "looked a bit mad, like there was nothing there".
Daniel, who had left home at around 7am wearing headphones and school sports clothes, suffered "a near-decapitation" when Monzo attacked him with the weapon from behind, prosecutor Tom Little KC told the jury.
PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield chased the armed attacker through alleyways before Monzo struck her three times with the 60cm blade using "extreme force", the court heard.
He then entered a nearby house through the back door and walked upstairs before attacking sleeping couple Sindy Arias and Henry De Los Rios Polania, whom he asked: "Do you believe in God?"
Mr Little said their lives were only spared because their four-year-old daughter, who was sleeping nearby, woke up and started to cry.
Monzo, who had been cornered by police, also struck Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was finally disarmed and arrested after trying to climb onto a garage to escape.
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