When Marcus Arduini-Monzo went on a horrific rampage in Hainault, virtually decapitating a schoolboy and injuring five more people during a devastating attack he himself compared to The Hunger Games, the whole of London and the country was left dumbfounded. How could someone do such a thing?
Arduini Monzo , 37, had gone into a cannabis-induced psychosis when he killed 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin with a samurai sword, the Old Bailey heard. Monzo 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 murder. 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.
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 murder but found guilty of the lesser offence of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. Monzo will be sentenced on Friday (June 27) at the Old Bailey.
Below Chief Crown Prosecutor Jaswant Narwal explains how the CPS proved it was drugs – not mental health – that prompted Arduini-Monzo’s psychotic killing spree, resulting in the murder of a schoolboy.
‘There can be no doubt about where the full responsibility for this shocking crime rests’
“As the Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London North, I know just how shocked Londoners were by Marcus Arduini-Monzo’s horrifying rampage last year – and my thoughts are with the family of Daniel and everyone whose lives were rocked by this sickening attack, not least the courageous police officers who put themselves at risk in order to protect the rest of us and undoubtedly prevented the further loss of life.
“I wish those officers, and all who are still recovering from the physical and mental trauma of that day, well. Whenever an attack like this unfolds, a key question on the lips of everyone in the community is why someone would carry out such an unspeakable act.
“There was no doubt Arduini-Monzo was in grips of a psychotic episode, but the challenge for our specialist homicide prosecutors in this case was proving that his mental state was the result of his cannabis misuse – not an underlying mental health condition such as schizophrenia.
“This matters, because by proving Arduini-Monzo’s psychosis was the result of his own actions, our prosecutors could bring charges of murder, as opposed to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
“Because of the expert medical evidence we brought to prove this critical point to the jury, there can now be no doubt about where the full responsibility with this shocking crime rests – with the killer.
“I want Londoners to know that whenever the CPS can prove the responsibility for a crime lies with the actions of the defendant, we will not hesitate to push for the strongest possible charges.”
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