A man nearly killed after a Samurai sword-wielding killer who decapitated a schoolboy broke into his house has relived the terrifying moment for the first time.
Henry Polania came face to face with Marcus Monzo, 37, after he had already murdered Daniel Anjorin as he was walking to school in Hainault, east London.
In a rampage of terror the Brazilian went on to attack a series of strangers, including two hero police officers, in the horrifying suburban rampage, while shouting ‘Does anyone believe in God?’
He believes Monzo only spared their lives because his terrified four-year-old daughter began to cry.
Speaking about the moment he was confronted with the drug-crazed killer, Mr Polania told Sky News: ‘He grabbed the sword with both of his hands and went backwards with such force and tried to cut the head off my wife.
‘I was like I can’t let this happen. In my mind, I was like, I can’t let this happen. So I just tried to stop him.
‘I pulled my hands towards the blade and stop him. I tried to push the blade, but I couldn’t because it was too quick. How can I explain? It was like, that’s it.
‘I looked at my hand and it was all open. You could see my bones. I was bleeding, at the moment I thought oh my God, this is not a dream, this is real life. He’s going to kill us.’
Henry Polania came face to face with Marcus Monzo, 37, after he had already murdered Daniel Anjorin as he was walking to school in Hainault, east London
Henry De Los Rios Polania suffered deep injuries to his arm while protecting his family after Monzo burst into their home
The Old Bailey heard Monzo believed he was a character from The Hunger Games, in which contestants fight to the death on a TV show.
High on cannabis which ‘led to a psychotic disorder’, he was found guilty of murder, attempted murder, aggravated burglary by entering a property with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wounding with intent and having an article with a blade. He is due to be sentenced today.
But Mr Polania says he was only saved from being the second murder victim after his daughter unexpectedly came crying out of her bedroom.
Speaking to the BBC, he continued: ‘My little one started crying after she woke up, ‘Mama, Papa!’ I just started crying.
‘And then Monzo done two steps back because he wasn’t expecting the little one in the room.
‘And he just pointed the katana towards my little one’s face and then to Carolina and then to me.
‘And he said: ‘I’m just going to let you live, because of your little one.’ And he left.’
Monzo began his rampage around 6.45am on April 30 last year using a van to mow down his first victim, Donald Iwule, who was walking to work when he was hit and catapulted into a nearby garden.
Mr Polania believes Monzo only spared their lives because his terrified four-year-old daughter began to cry
Daniel Anjorin was a student at Bancroft School, which was also attended by Nottingham stabbing victim Grace O’Malley-Kumar
Marcus Monzo: The amateur musician believed he was a character from The Hunger Games
Marcus Aurelio Arduini Monzo was arrested after a 20-minute rampage in Hainault
Monzo attacked an ambulance that arrived at the scene, forcing its crew to retreat
Jurors were shown CCTV of Mr Iwule screaming in agony shouting: ‘I don’t know you’ as Monzo approached on foot wielding the 60cm blade.
The Brazilian replied: ‘I don’t care, I will kill you’ as he swung towards the victim’s neck and torso before Mr Iwule managed to escape.
Monzo then encountered schoolboy Daniel. Prosecutor Tom Little, KC, said: ‘He was simply walking to school, minding his own business, looking forward to the day ahead. His life was snuffed out in an instant. In fact, most accurately, he was slain by the defendant.’
Mr Little said Monzo ‘moved quickly like a predator behind Daniel. He lifted the sword above his head, swung it downwards towards Daniel’s head and neck area. Daniel instantly fell to the ground.’
Mr Little called the attack a ‘near decapitation’.
In mobile phone footage a woman can be heard saying: ‘F***, he just killed that boy, he just killed him right outside my house.’
A female police officer, Yasim Mechem-Whitfield, pursued Monzo through a series of alleyways before he launched a ‘ferocious attack’, striking her three times.
Monzo filmed himself unwrapping the sword he later used to kill Daniel Anjorin. Also in this image is his cat, Wizard, who he strangled, skinned and de-boned because he became convinced the pet would be the architect of Armageddon
Monzo was eventually cornered and subdued by police armed with Tasers
Monzo was eventually cornered and subdued by police armed with Tasers
He then charged into a nearby house and attacked Mr Polania and his wife in their bedroom, but their lives were spared when their four-year-old daughter woke up and started crying.
Monzo’s rampage only ended when he was surrounded by officers in a garage area and tasered. Mr Little said it was a ‘miracle’ that more people were not killed that day.
He said: ‘This case involved a brutal string of attacks with murderous intent primarily committed with the use of a large sword. The prosecution say there was a clear intention to kill a number of people that morning on the defendant’s part.’
One hero officer, who fought Monzo face to face, today said he did not see himself as a hero after receiving a wound to his hand as he battled to disarm him.
The killer’s sword got so close to slashing Inspector Moloy Campbell’s chest that he cut off part of his body-word camera after he blocked the katana with his police-issue baton.
He told the BBC: ‘He started closing down the distance quickly, slashing with his sword. He was slashing at me and I was hitting him and my baton hit his sword in midair.
‘We clipped each other – he went across to top of my chest and cut off part of my body worn camera and I could see he had real determination in his eyes.
‘We then went back at each other and hit each other, and that was the point when the blade came down by arm, cutting my fleece and then nicking my hand on the way out.
The killer’s sword got so close to slashing Inspector Moloy Campbell’s chest that he cut off part of his body-word camera after he blocked the katana with his police-issue baton
Inspector Campbell, who fought Monzo face to face, today said he did not see himself as a hero after receiving a wound to his hand as he battled to disarm him
A female police officer, Yasim Mechem-Whitfield, pursued Monzo through a series of alleyways before he launched a ‘ferocious attack’, striking her three times
Social media photos show Monzo smiling and doing a thumbs-up with a collection of medals round his neck after winning a sports contest
The defence argued Monzo – seen here in a court sketch – had a pre-existing condition which made him vulnerable to psychotic episodes prompted by his use of cannabis
‘The only feeling I had was the need to complete what had to be done, which was disarming Mr Monzo and ultimately the preservation of life.’
Mr Campbell sat at the Old Bailey throughout Monzo’s murder trial and was in court when he was found guilty on Wednesday.
On his reaction, he said: ‘My entire thoughts were for the family of Daniel. I spoke to my team and thanked them again and filled them in on the finer details.
‘My thoughts were for Daniel’s family who I am humbled by – incredible people. I think the jury came to the right decision.’
The defence argued Monzo had a pre-existing condition which made him vulnerable to psychotic episodes prompted by his use of cannabis.
But forensic psychiatrist Nigel Blackwood said Monzo was capable of curtailing his cannabis use and aware of the risks.
‘The violence would not, in Professor Blackwood’s opinion, have happened in the absence of such voluntary substance misuse,’ Mr Little said.
When police searched Monzo’s van they found a second knife which he had used to skin his cat before the attack and another 22cm sword.
Monzo later told police that his personality had switched and ‘something happened, like a game happening’ claiming it was ‘like the movie Hunger Games’.
He told officers ‘one of his personalities is a professional assassin’.
Kirsty O’Connor, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘The CPS maintained throughout that Arduini Monzo’s mental state was driven by his own cannabis misuse which meant that he was fully responsible for the devastation he caused last year.
The footage was shown to jurors at The Old Bailey on Thursday
Monzo, 37, at Westminster Magistrates Court last year flanked by custody officers
A woman leaving flowers in Daniel’s memory at a police cordon near the scene in Hainault
‘The jury, by their unequivocal verdicts, have accepted the prosecution case.
‘Our hearts go out to Daniel Anjorin’s family and friends who have suffered his unimaginable loss in horrific circumstances, and our thoughts remain with all of the victims who continue to recover from their injuries and trauma.
‘I would also like to pay tribute to the brave police officers and emergency workers who faced Marcos Arduini Monzo on that terrifying day in April 2024, putting their own personal safety at risk in the line of duty.
‘The courage shown by Pc Mechem-Whitfield, Pc King, Inspector Campbell and others who selflessly sought to apprehend Arduini Monzo whilst facing extreme personal danger was exceptional and undoubtedly prevented further loss of life.
‘We all owe them a debt of gratitude.’
Chief Superintendent Stuart Bell said he was ‘incredibly proud’ of the police response.
‘The scale and severity of the attack was intense and quite widespread and throughout the entire incident our officers responded with courage, placing their own safety second, trying to prevent harm to others first, showing great courage and bravery and teamwork to eventually detain Monzo.
‘That type of incident is rare thankfully but the notion of our officers running towards and dealing with dangerous situations is not.
‘Eighteen officers a day in London are assaulted dealing with calls. The behaviour our officers displayed that day is displayed every day, the fearlessness, the courage, the self-sacrifice. Frankly, Moloy and Yasmin both suffered severe injuries as a result of them attempting to prevent harm to others and our officers take that action every day.’
Speaking ahead of Monzo’s sentencing on Friday, Mr Bell paid tribute to the schoolboy who lost his life.
He said: ‘Daniel was universally described as a talented, gentle young man with great potential with a life ahead of him who was loved by so many.
‘His untimely death is a tragedy and words do not come close to describing how tragic, how random the events which befell Daniel were.
‘His family have been nothing but dignified, resilient and behaved with the most incredible courage and we are frankly in awe of them.
‘All we could do was try to bring some form of justice to Daniel and the family and now give them the space to move on and grieve.’
Mr Bell said Monzo’s actions were induced by cannabis and even though it was a concern he had been exposed to extreme views on social media – including far-right and incel ideology – there was no evidence he had enacted anything he had seen online.
Despite efforts to clamp down on the sale of knives online, Monzo had bought an expensive handmade Katana sword legally.
