A 17-year-old boy has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to the manslaughter of 15-year-old Elianne Andam in Croydon on September 27 last year but denied murdering her.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, stabbing Elianne to death on September 27 shortly after she stepped off a London bus.
He appeared at the Old Bailey on Thursday to enter a plea, admitting manslaughter but pleading not guilty to murder.
The boy also denied possessing a blade in a public place.
Elianne, a keen gymnast and cheerleader, was a year 11 pupil at Old Palace of John Whitgift school in Croydon.
She suffered a fatal knife wound shortly after she alighted from a No 60 bus with friends in Wellesley Road, near the Whitgift Centre, at around8.30am on September 27.
It is claimed her attacker, wearing a mask and gloves, removed a large knife from his waistband and stabbed Elianne repeatedly.
As he fled the scene, others attempted to administer first aid but she could not be saved.
The defendant was arrested in New Addington at 9.45am the same day.
Prosecutor Alison Morgan KC previously said: “It was, the prosecutionallege, a brutal attack.”
At a vigil after her death, Rosemarie Mallett, the Bishop of Croydon, read a statement from Elianne’s family, saying: “We, as a family are struggling tocomprehend this painful tragedy that has happened to our beautiful daughter and beloved sister Elianne.
“Our hearts are broken. We are overwhelmed by sorrow and grief but our faith inthe Lord is strengthening us.”
A trial date on the charge of murder has been set for November 25.
