A Spanish-Brazilian man, Marcus Arduini Monzo, is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of m8rdering a 14-year-old British-Nigerian schoolboy, Daniel Anjorin, during a violent rampage in London.
The jury at London’s Central Criminal Court convicted Monzo on Wednesday, June 25, of m8rder, three counts of attempted m8rder, one count of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a bladed article.
Monzo, 37, wanted to kill as many people as he could in a spate of indiscriminate attacks lasting 20 minutes in Hainault, northeast London, on April 30 last year, the Old Bailey heard.
Anjorin’s life was ‘snuffed out in an instant’ when Monzo crept up behind him and delivered a ‘devastating and unsurvivable’ blow to the side of his face and neck.
Witnesses described Monzo dropping to his knees with both arms raised while screaming ‘in delight’ at the senseless slaughter.
Daniel’s parents had sat in court throughout the trial when harrowing CCTV and police body-worn video had been played.
Speaking at the time, they paid tribute to a ‘beloved son’ and a ‘loving and precious brother’ and said they were ‘devastated’ by his d3ath.
They said: “It is difficult for us at this time to process what has happened to him and that he will never come home.
“Daniel had left the house for school and then he was gone.
“Our children have lost their loving and precious brother and we have lost the most loved and amazing son.”
As well as killing Daniel, Monzo, who had a blue belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu, also attacked a pedestrian, two police officers and a couple in their own home before he was arrested by police.
Afterwards, Monzo likened events to the Hollywood film The Hunger Games and claimed to have an alternative persona of a ‘professional assassin’.
Giving evidence at his trial, he said he had no memory of what happened and claimed his mental state had diminished his responsibility for the crimes.
However, the prosecution argued that psychosis brought on by self-induced intoxication was no defence for m3rder.
Even though Monzo admitted he had drunk a hallucinogenic tea called ayahuasca, no trace of DMT – the class A drug in the brew – was detected in his system.
The court also heard how Monzo had made ‘stabbing motions’ re-enacting the violence when he chatted about ‘killing films’ with a member of staff at Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital.
An Old Bailey jury found Monzo guilty of Daniel’s murder, three charges of attempted murder, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article relating to a kitchen knife.
He was cleared of one count of attempted m8rder in relation to the victim Henry De Los Rios Polania but found guilty of the lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Monzo, who showed no emotion as the verdicts were read out, previously admitted having the samurai sword used to kill Daniel and a katana sword found in his van.
The court had heard how Monzo launched the series of attacks by driving his grey Ford Transit van into Donato Iwule, who was ‘catapulted’ into a nearby garden before the vehicle smashed into a concrete pillar and fence.
He went on to hit Mr Iwule in the neck with his sword before running away, the court was told.
He then virtually decapitated Daniel, who was wearing headphones on his way to school, jurors heard.
Witness Maria Olmos said Monzo dropped to his knees and held his hands up after mortally wounding the schoolboy.
“At the time of doing so he let out an extremely loud scream. It wasn’t a scream of pain, it was a scream of delight – my interpretation was he was celebrating,” she said.
PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield was hit three times with the 60cm long blade with ‘extreme force’ as she chased Monzo through alleyways and residential properties.
Next, he entered a property and attacked a couple who were sleeping in an upstairs bedroom with their young daughter nearby.
Monzo demanded to know if they ‘believe in God’ before he left the property.
Inspector Molloy Campbell tried to detain Monzo in a car park and received a slash wound to his hand.
Monzo then climbed on to the roof of a garage before he was finally apprehended.
Following his arrest, Monzo claimed his personality had switched and that ‘something happened, like a game happening
In his evidence, Monzo described being bullied growing up in Brazil before his family moved to Britain in 2013.
He practised mixed martial arts (MMA) until an injury in 2016 led him to explore yoga and the ‘magical, miraculous and supernatural’ aspects of spirituality, he said.
He began to follow a guru on YouTube, spent a year at a retreat in India and took ayahuasca – a hallucinogenic brew traditionally used in South America.
Monzo will be sentenced on Friday at the Old Bailey.
