'Elianne was vibrant, creative and purposeful...Now the music has stopped, the laughter is gone.All that remains is deafening silence

THE heartbroken family of murdered schoolgirl Elianne Andam broke down in court yesterday as her teenage killer was jailed for life.

- Paul Jeeves

Elianne, 15, was described by her doting parents as a driven girl “full of potential” who harboured dreams of becoming a lawyer.

Her mother Dorcas said she would have gone on to achieve “the greatest things”.

But her future was snuffed out when she was repeatedly stabbed with a kitchen knife during a row.

Dorcas described the killing as “senseless, monstrous and evil”.

Yesterday, she watched as cowardly killer Hassan Sentamu sobbed as he was told he would spend at least 23 years behind bars.

Angry shouts erupted from the public gallery at the Old Bailey as the sentence was passed.

Earlier, a harrowing victim impact statement from Dorcas described her daughter as “vibrant, creative and purposeful - the kindest, most loving daughter”.

She said: “Now the music has stopped, the laughter is gone. All that remains is a deafening silence.”

Addressing Sentamu directly, she said he had ruined her life when he killed Elianne in the most “deliberate”, “senseless” and “evil” way, saying: “The question that forever haunts me is why? What did she ever do to deserve such cruelty?”

Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told how the victim was a “hard-working, happy girl” with a “radiant smile”. She told the defendant: “Elianne was 15 when you murdered her, she will always remain just 15. She will never realise the potential of her life.”

She added the driver for his actions was his “short temper and aggressive tendencies” and his “deliberate decision to carry a knife”.