A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of 14-year-old schoolboy Daniel Anjorin following a sword attack in east London.
Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, having also been charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
Wearing a grey tracksuit, he appeared with four prison officers and spoke to confirm his name.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldpsring remanded Monzo, of Newham, east London, in custody to appear at the Old Bailey on Tuesday if a hearing is not available on Friday.
The 36-year-old was charged by the Metropolitan Police on Wednesday evening following the attack in Hainault the previous day.
Monzo is accused of crashing a van into a fence in Laing Close just before 7am and then attacking two people with a sword.
He is then accused of then running up behind Daniel, 14, who was walking to school, and slashing his neck, before stabbing him in the chest as he lay on the ground.
Police officers arrived and tried to help the teenager, when it is alleged that Monzo appeared from a bush and they chased him.
The court was told that he jumped out at a female officer and attacked her with the sword while she was on the ground.
Tributes to the teenager have been pouring in, with his family describing him as “a wonderful child” who was well-loved and hard-working. “No family should have to go through what we are experiencing today,” they told Sky News.
Staff and pupils at Daniel’s school Bancroft’s, an independent school in Woodford Green, said they have been left in “profound shock and sorrow” at his “heartbreaking” death. They praised him as “an amazing young man” and a “true scholar”, adding: “His positive nature and gentle character will leave a lasting impact on us.”
The school was also hit by tragedy last summer when former pupil Grace O’Malley-Kumar was stabbed to death in Nottingham as she tried to save her friend Barnaby Webber from knife attacker Valdo Calocane.
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