Latest news with #samuraisword
Associated Press
a day ago
- Associated Press
Samurai sword murderer gets life in prison for a rampage that killed a London schoolboy last year
LONDON (AP) — A man armed with a samurai sword who murdered a London boy on his way to school during a rampage that seriously injured five other people was sentenced Friday to life in prison. Marcus Arduini Monzo was condemned as 'wicked' by Daniel Anjorin's father, who described the agony of finding his 14-year-old son crumpled in a pool of blood outside their home shortly after he'd left for school on April 30, 2024. 'It has been the worst nightmare experience of our lives,' Dr. Ebenezer Anjorin said during the sentencing in the Central Criminal Court. 'To have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a cruel and savage way. No family should have to go through this.' Monzo, 37, was convicted Wednesday of Anjorin's murder, along with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article. Justice Joel Bennathan set the scene of the crime on the streets of east London, where he said people had just set out for work and children were headed to school, when Monzo plowed his van into a pedestrian and unleashed a 20-minute frenzied attack that came to an end only after police used a stun gun to immobilize him. 'That peaceful, busy scene was devastated as members of the public were attacked, police officers were gravely injured, a couple were terrified in their own home, and a clever, talented, much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,' Bennathan said. 'You, Marcos Arduini Monzo, did all of that.' Prosecutors said that drug use triggered the psychotic episode that turned violent when Monzo killed his cat, Wizard, after voices in his head told him the pet was sapping his energy and he needed to kill and eat it. Before he could do that, though, he said he was overcome by feeling that Armageddon was imminent and he left his home in his van for his parent's house. On the way, he rammed his car into security guard Donato Iwule, who he attacked with the sword and said he was going to kill him. He slashed the man's neck, but Iwule was able to get away. Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, who was wearing headphones, and didn't hear a neighbor warning him of the swordsman. 'We were shouting and waving towards Daniel as he came out,' Aiste Dabasinskaite said after the attack. 'It just happened right before our eyes, it was horrible.' Monzo nearly beheaded the teen with the 2-foot (60-centimeter) blade and stabbed him as he lay on the ground. When police officers arrived and tried to help the boy, Monzo sprang from bushes nearby and bolted. Constable Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield gave chase and suffered what police said were 'brutal and life-changing' injuries including a fractured skull and severe nerve damage when he lunged at her. Monzo then broke into a nearby home, where he awoke a couple who had been sleeping with their 4-year-old daughter. He shouted about believing in God and attacked the girl's father, wounding his neck and arm. In his final act of violence, he struck police Inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was subdued with a stun gun and arrested. Jurors determined Monzo was responsible for his actions after prosecutors argued that the attack was caused by his cannabis use, rather than an underlying mental health condition. Monzo, who has dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, said that an injury from mixed martial arts had led him on a spiritual quest and he consumed ayahuasca, a hallucinogen, and frequently smoked marijuana. Prosecutors said Monzo had an interest in violence, far-right extremism and conspiracy theories. He had shared vaccine misinformation and liked social media posts on X praising Adolf Hitler. Monzo told jurors he believed that the Earth was flat and that the 9/11 attack was 'probably' a conspiracy. He also spoke about his practice of drinking his own urine.
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Father describes ‘worst nightmare' of finding son in pool of blood after Hainault sword attack as killer jailed for 40 years
A father has recalled the moment he found his son lying in a pool of blood after he was murdered with a samurai sword in an unprovoked attack as his killer was jailed for at least 40 years. Kind and thoughtful Daniel Anjorin, 14, was walking to school in his PE kit when he was ambushed by Marcus Arduini Monzo during a 20-minute rampage in Hainault, east London. The 37-year-old killer was high on cannabis and in a drug-fuelled psychosis during the spree, which also left five people wounded. Wearing a green jumper and grey prison-issue tracksuit, Monzo stared straight ahead as he was sentenced to life in prison. Less time already served on remand, he will serve a minimum of 38 years and 309 days before he is eligible for parole. Judge Mr Justice Bennathan told Monzo that the peaceful, busy scene as people left for work and school on the morning of 30 April last year was 'devastated' by his actions after he arrived in a 'clearly psychotic state'. 'A clever, talented and much-loved young boy was killed by a savage blow with a sword,' he said. 'You, Marcus Arduini Monzo, did that.' Daniel's father, Dr Ebenezer Anjorin, told the Old Bailey on Friday the talented schoolboy set off at 7am, but within 15 minutes he was told by his eldest son that Daniel had been stabbed near their home. 'I ran outside of the house and just across the road I saw a hunched-up body by the side on the road,' he recalled in a victim personal statement read to the court by prosecutor Tom Little KC. 'I did not realise that it was Daniel at first but as I got closer, I recognised the school sports clothes and saw his face.' He was 'lying in a pool blood' and had a 'deep cut' to the side of his face, he said. 'He was motionless,' the father said. 'I knew at once he was dead. I reached out and called his name and held his head.' When Daniel's mother arrived at the scene and saw paramedics working on her son, she screamed and cried, he added. Paying tribute to the 'much loved son and brother', who leaves behind an older brother and younger sister, the grieving father added: 'It has been the worst nightmare experience of our lives to have to go through the pain of losing a child in such a cruel and savage way.' The father said he will never see Daniel, who was a gifted student who enjoyed sports and played the violin and piano, take his exams and go to university. 'Daniel had so much potential to excel in so many areas, he could have been a great scientist, financier, or business founder,' the father said. 'We will not see him get married or have children. All the normal things that parents hope for their children. 'All these hopes and aspirations have been cruelly snatched away from us through the wicked actions of Marcus Monzo.' Dr Anjorin said Monzo was a "danger to society" and had shown no remorse or apologised for his actions. He added that the "completely random, savage attack" on a school child had "shocked the community and the whole country". Monzo, who had a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, also attacked a pedestrian, two police officers and a couple in their own home in the horrifying spree. Mr Little KC previously told jurors it was 'miraculous' that more people were not killed as Monzo slashed and chopped at those he came across. The trial heard Monzo had killed and skinned his pet cat, Wizard, and mowed down passer-by Donato Iwule with a van before attacking Daniel, who was walking to school with his headphones in at around 7am. Witness Maria Olmos said Monzo dropped to his knees and held his hands up after he inflicted the mortal wounds on the unsuspecting teenager, who was a devoted Arsenal fan. 'At the time of doing so he let out an extremely loud scream,' she said. 'It wasn't a scream of pain, it was a scream of delight – my interpretation was he was celebrating.' Metropolitan Police officer Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield was struck three times with the sword and suffered significant injuries as she pursued him through alleyways. He then burst into a property and attacked a couple as they lay in bed, while shouting: 'Do you believe in God?' After once again escaping, he struck inspector Moloy Campbell once with the sword before he was finally arrested. Afterwards, he likened events to the Hollywood film The Hunger Games and claimed to have an alternative personality of a 'professional assassin'. In statements read to the court, Mr Iwule revealed he suffers from post traumatic stress disorder, flashbacks and is afraid to revisit the scene of the attack near Hainault station. PC Mechem-Whitfield has undergone four operations but is still unable to return to her work as a police officer. Inspector Campbell, who read a victim personal statement from the witness box, said the memory of hearing the radio transmission 'police officer stabbed, police officer stabbed' still makes him shiver. He has not regained complete movement and feeling in his hand. In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Bennathan praised the bravery of the officers, adding: "All the police officers behaved with exemplary courage and put their lives on the line to protect the public they served." The Brazilian national had admitted to possessing two swords but insisted he had no memory of what happened and claimed his mental state had diminished his responsibility for the crimes. Jurors at the Old Bailey this week found him guilty of murder, three counts of attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article. He was cleared of one count of attempted murder but found guilty of the lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Giving evidence in his three-week trial, Monzo told jurors he believed the Earth was flat and the 9/11 terrorist attack in the United States was 'probably' a conspiracy. He said his views were largely formed after he visited India and started consuming the hallucinogenic tea, ayahuasca, and cannabis. But no trace of DMT – the class-A drug in the tea – was detected in his system. Monzo, who liked to drink and wash in his own urine, described being bullied growing up in Brazil before his family moved to Britain in 2013.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
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. 2:47 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. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Daniel Anjorin: Man who murdered boy in Hainault jailed for life
A man has been jailed for life after being convicted of murdering a 14-year-old schoolboy with a samurai sword in east Monzo fatally wounded Daniel Anjorin minutes after leaving his home in Hainault on April 30 last year. The 37-year-old also injured five more people, including two police officers, during a 20-minute sentence at the Old Bailey, Judge Mr Justice Bennathan said Monzo inflicted an "unsurvivable wound" to Daniel as he walked to school. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X to get the latest alerts.
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Man who killed London teen with samurai sword convicted of murder
A man armed with a samurai sword who killed a London teenager on his way to school and injured five other people during what the prosecution said was a psychotic episode triggered by drug use was convicted of murder on Wednesday. A jury at London's Central Criminal Court found Marcus Arduini Monzo guilty of murdering 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin, along with three counts of attempted murder and one count each of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possessing a bladed article. The 37-year-old had admitted to carrying two samurai swords but denied all other charges. Monzo, who has dual Spanish and Brazilian citizenship, killed Anjorin during a 20-minute rampage in April 2024 in the Hainault area of northeast London that began when he struck a pedestrian with his van. He told the victim he was going to kill him and slashed the man's neck. The wounded man was able to get away and survived. Monzo then ambushed Anjorin, who was wearing headphones, and did not hear a neighbour yelling to warn him. 'We were shouting and waving towards Daniel as he came out,' Aiste Dabasinskaite said after the attack. 'He had his headphones in so he wouldn't hear us. It just happened right before our eyes, it was horrible.'
