Marcus Aurelio Arduini-Monzo, a 37-year-old Spanish-Brazilian man, has been found guilty of murdering 14-year-old Nigerian schoolboy Daniel Anjorin during a violent rampage in northeast London on April 30, 2024.

The jury at London’s Central Criminal Court convicted Arduini-Monzo on Wednesday of murder, three counts of attempted murder, one count of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, and possession of a bladed article.

Anjorin, the youngest child of a Nigerian family living in Hainault, was walking home from school just 14 metres from his front door when he was ambushed and fatally attacked with a 2-foot (60 cm) samurai sword. He was wearing headphones and did not hear the warnings of neighbours, witnesses told the court.

The post-mortem confirmed Anjorin died of sharp force trauma to the head. Prosecutors said Arduini-Monzo nearly decapitated the teenager before stabbing him multiple times.

The incident formed part of a wider 20-minute attack in which Arduini-Monzo injured four others, including Constable Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield, who sustained life-altering injuries while trying to subdue him. She suffered a fractured skull and severe nerve damage.

He also broke into a nearby house, attacking a man in front of his wife and four-year-old daughter, and later struck a police Inspector before being tasered and arrested.

The court heard that Arduini-Monzo, a former Amazon delivery driver, was under a cannabis-induced psychosis at the time of the attack. He admitted to owning the two swords used in the assault but denied intent to kill, claiming he intended to display them.

During the trial, the jury was shown bodycam footage and CCTV recordings of the attack. Arduini-Monzo made several bizarre claims, including believing the Earth is flat and 9/11 was a conspiracy. He admitted killing his cat under the influence of hallucinogens and said a voice told him to eat it to regain energy.

Prosecutors argued that Monzo’s psychosis was drug-induced, not due to a medical condition, making him fully responsible for his actions.

Kirsty O’Connor of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “The jury, by their unequivocal verdicts, have accepted the prosecution case. Our hearts go out to Daniel Anjorin’s family and friends, who have suffered his unimaginable loss in horrific circumstances.”

Daniel’s parents attended the trial and have expressed their devastation, struggling to come to terms with their son’s death.

Arduini-Monzo is due to be sentenced on Friday. (The Guardian)