A martial arts enthusiast accused of murdering a 14-year-old boy filmed himself unboxing a sword he had bought online a few weeks before the attack.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, attacked schoolboy Daniel in the street in Hainault during a 20-minute spate of attacks on April 30 last year.
Monzo had driven into his first victim with his van before going on the rampage with a samurai sword, attacking and killing Daniel and inflicting injuries on other victims including police officers.
The Old Bailey trial has seen a video, filmed by Monzo on April 4, as he unboxed a Katana sword he had bought online.
In the iPhone footage, Monzo is heard exclaiming “wow” as he pulls out the weapon, and tells the camera: “This just came through the post.”
“This is very ninja stuff”, he says. “I’m sort of obliged to do some ninja stuff.”
Monzo, dressed in a yellow hoodie, black shorts, and wearing headphones, appears to refer to his cat, sitting nearby, as the “wizard”, and calls the weapon: “Freaking sexy”.
In between making lunges and arm gestures, he also tells the camera: “I’m rushing in. How can I not rush in…look at this.”
“This is handmade in Japan. Took more than a month to reach me.”
The court heard on Monday that Monzo first went online to spend nearly £1,000 on swords in December 2023, but then cancelled the order.
He bought two handmade Katana swords for £427.80 on February 21, 2024, with delivery coming through to his home in early April.
Monzo faces a murder charge over Daniel’s death and is accused of four counts of attempted murder and a charge of wounding with intent over the other attacks.
Jurors have heard there is no dispute that it was Monzo who inflicted the injuries. The trial will look at his state of mind at the time, and whether cannabis use contributed to his declining mental condition.
Monzo had skinned and deboned his car before starting the attacks, which began at just before 7am when he used his grey Ford Transit work van to run into Donato Iwule in Laing Close.
Monzo got out of the stricken vehicle to attack Mr Iwule with a sword, before he then attacked and killed Daniel who was walking to school.
The 14-year-old boy was wearing earphones at the time, and likely did not hear Monzo approaching.
Mr Iwule, a Co-op security guard on his way to work, said he saw Monzo “smiling” as he launched the sword attack.
“I thought I was dying”, he told the court, describing how he was hit by the van and tried to reason with Monzo as he approached with the sword.
“I said ‘I don’t know you’… I said it multiple times”, he said.
“He said ‘I don’t care – I’m going to kill you’.”
Mr Iwule said he shouted ‘God is greatest’ in Arabic after being struck in the neck, while Monzo “was smiling like it was something that he was happy about.”
The security guard was able to escape and tried to sound the alarm to others nearby, including Daniel, telling them to go back inside.
Mitchell Hayes, Mr Iwule’s Co-op colleague, was one of the first on the scene and described seeing Monzo “running around with it like a maniac”.
The court also heard statements from witnesses who came across Monzo before the attacks.
One said Monzo admitted to believing several conspiracy theories, including that the Pope is an evil lizard controlling the world, and he praised Elon Musk for letting “the truth” spread on Twitter under the banner of free speech.
Monzo has admitted possessing two swords but denies murder, attempted murder, wounding with intent, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
The trial continues.
