Boy, 14, ‘hacked to death in an instant by man with Samurai sword’ on way to school

A boy was almost decapitated as he headed to school when he was attacked with a Samurai sword, a court has heard.

Daniel Anjorin was wearing headphones when he left his home in Hainault, north London, and was allegedly set upon by Marcus Monzo, who is on trial at the Old Bailey.

Daniel suffered ‘devastating and unsurvivable’ injuries last April during a 20-minute string of indiscriminate attacks.

Opening the case, prosecutor Tom Little, KC, said Monzo began  his rampage against complete strangers at about 6.50am after skinning and deboning his cat.

He is then alleged to have driven his grey Transit van into Donato Iwule, sending him flying into a nearby garden on Laing Close, where he was attacked in the neck with the sword.

Footage showed Mr Iwule screaming before running away.

Mr Little said: ‘if he had not managed to escape, it seems inevitable that he too would have been killed.’

Monzo is then alleged to have got back into his van, drove a short distance down the street and launched his attack on Daniel.

Jurors were told that when police arrived, he bolted with PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield chasing after him through a series of alleyways between residential properties.

She was struck three times with a 2ft blade, suffering significant injuries.

Monzo is then accused of going into a nearby house, walking upstairs and into a bedroom where Sindy Arias and Henry de los Rios Polania were sleeping with their daughter on a bed next to them.

He is then alleged to have attacked them while shouting ‘do you believe in god?’

Mr Little said: ‘They were spared only because, in fact, the four-year-old child woke up and started to cry.’

The court heard he was then pursued into a nearby garage area where he is accused of hitting inspector Moloy Campbell.

He then climbed on top of a garage, but was eventually disarmed and arrested.

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 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.’

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.’

Monzo denies one count of murder and four counts of attempted murder. The trial continues.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.