The samurai sword killer of 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin is a “flat Earther” and 9/11 conspiracy theorist who hailed Elon Musk for allowing “the truth” to spread on social media, the Old Bailey has heard.
Marcus Arduini Monzo, 37, is accused of murdering Daniel in the street in Hainault during a 20-minute spate of attacks on April 30 last year.
He ran over the first victim with his grey Ford Transit van, jurors have heard, and allegedly used a 60cm sword to then attack several victims including Daniel.
The trial is set to investigate Monzo’s psychological state at the time of the attacks.
On Monday, Elizabeth Bananuka told the court about Monzo’s “frightening” views that he shared with her when she hired him as a ‘man with a van’ to help with an awards ceremony.
She said he referred to the Covid-19 outbreak as a “plan-demic” and talked to her about “speaking the truth”.
When asked by Monzo, Ms Bananuka said she did not use Twitter because of Musk’s purchase of the site, now rebranded X.
But the court heard Monzo praised Musk’s “freedom of speech” campaigning for “allowing the truth to come out”.
She said Monzo told her he believes the Earth is flat, and there is “an area in Antarctica where anyone who has tried to go there has died.
“After that is where you would hit the wall, and we all live under a dome.”
She said an “adamant” Monzo went on to profess that the world is controlled by “evil lizards” with the Pope at the top.
He believes the pandemic was “created” to silence the people as there were “too many learning the truth”.
And Ms Bananuka said Monzo expressed a 9/11 conspiracy before suggesting we are “all just like little ants being controlled”.
“I found the views of Mr Monzo frightening, that he actually believed all of this”, she said.
Monzo denies murdering Daniel as well as four counts of attempted murder on the same date.
Jurors have heard it is not denied that Monzo carried out the attacks.
Experts will be called during the trial to give evidence on his state of mind at the time, as Monzo is putting forward diminished responsibility as a defence to murder.
Prosecutors say Monzo’s condition at the time was brought about by cannabis use, and this does not amount to legitimate defence.
Earlier on Monday, jurors saw a video filmed by Monzo in early April last year, weeks before the stabbing spree, as he unboxed a Katana sword he had bought online.
In the four-minute clip, Monzo, dressed in black shorts, a yellow hoodie, and large headphones, excitedly points to the cardboard box and refers to his cat, sitting nearby, as the “wizard”.
Monzo tells viewers “this just came through”, and calls it “very ninja stuff”. He exclaims “wow” as he opens the box, telling those who might watch that the sword is “handmade in Japan”, using real leather.
The jury have also seen a series of clips recovered by detectives which show Monzo’s movements on the day of the attacks.
When the trial opened last week, jurors heard Monzo skinned and deboned his own cat before going on the stabbing spree.
In the first attack, Monzo drove his grey Ford Transit van at speed into Donato Iwule, the court heard.
Prosecutor Tom Little KC said Mr Iwule was “catapulted some distance” into a nearby garden on Laing Close and the vehicle smashed a concrete pillar and fence.
Monzo is then accused of leaving the vehicle and striking Mr Iwule in the neck with his sword
Monzo drove his battered vehicle a short distance further before attacking Daniel, who was wearing headphones and school sports clothes while walking to school at 7am.
The schoolboy sustained a “devastating and unsurvivable chopping injury to the left hand side of his face and neck”, said Mr Little, who described it as “essentially a near-decapitation”.
PC Yasmin Mechem-Whitfield responded to 999 calls about the stabbings, and was struck three times by Monzo after a chase, it is said.
Monzo is then accused of then entering a nearby house through a backdoor and walking upstairs into a sleeping couple’s bedroom and attacking them.
Their daughter was sleeping in a bed next to theirs and Mr Little said: “They were spared only because in fact the four-year-old child woke up and started to cry.”
The defendant shouted to the couple on a number occasions, “do you believe in God?” before leaving the property through the front door, the court heard.
Monzo allegedly attacked another police officer, Inspector Moloy Campbell, before he was finally detained.
Monzo later likened the series of events to movie The Hunger Games, he told police he had “many personalities spread out”, and one of them is a “professional assassin”.
Monzo denies murder, four attempted murders, and wounding with intent.
He also denies aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
Monzo previously admitted two counts of having an offensive weapon, namely two swords.
The trial continues.
