18-year-old Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison for the murder in July last year in Southport, England, of three little girls – participants of “Taylor Swift-style” dance classes. On Monday, the defendant pleaded guilty. The verdict was handed down today.
Last Monday, Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty in court to 16 charges: murder of three girls on July 29, 2024, attempted murder of another 10 people, including eight children, possession of a knife, production of a biological toxin – ricin and possession of terrorist materials – a file with “instructions Al-Qaeda” (the last two items were found in his house after the attack).
On Thursday afternoon, Judge Julian Goose sentenced the 18-year-old defendant to a minimum of 52 years in prison. Goose explained that the defendant was not an adult at the time of committing the crime, so he was not sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. However, the judge noted that it was “highly probable” that Rudakubana would never be released from prison. Immediately before handing down the sentence, the judge said Rudakubana had “brutally murdered” three children and “if he could, he would kill all the children and adults who stood in his way.”
Journalists at Liverpool Crown Court, January 23, 2025.PAP/EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
According to the BBC, Rudakubana was taken to hospital before Thursday's hearing, but he appeared in court. During the arraignment, he started shouting that he needed a doctor because he felt sick, and the defendant's lawyer reported that he was feeling chest pain. When the judge stated that the trial would continue and “shouting would not speed anything up”, the defendant started screaming again and was eventually taken to a side room.
Meanwhile, the prosecution described the events of July 29. Those gathered in the room heard, among other things, that the accused left the house with a kitchen knife with a 20 cm long blade, which he had previously bought online. The prosecutor's office also described drastic details of what he did when he reached the hall of the community center in Southport. According to the prosecutor's office, last year's attack was prepared and was expected to result in many victims. According to the BBC, during Rudakuban's arrest he even told the police that he was glad that the children were dead.
“Scars that prevent you from moving forward”
After the findings were presented in court, statements were read from the victims and their relatives, including the parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, who died at a community center in Southport, the father of a nine-year-old girl who survived the attack, a dance instructor who was stabbed several times and a surviving teenager.
– That summer day, she was very excited to go to the dance workshop. In a matter of minutes, our lives were destroyed and turned upside down, said the parents of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. – Some moments are easier than others, but every day is the same. “Alice is not there when we wake up and she never will be,” the couple added, saying their daughter was the “goal of their lives.”
Flowers and toys left outside Liverpool Crown Court, January 23, 2025.PAP/EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
The father of the surviving nine-year-old girl indicated in court that he asked his daughter what impact the events of July 2024 had on her. “I am facing my emotions and I have scars that I know will stay with me forever, but I want to look to the future ” – the child was supposed to say. The nine-year-old's father said that “her words both terrify us and make us proud of her.” – Our daughter is strong. Our daughter has a positive attitude. Our daughter is brave, the man said.
“As a 36-year-old woman, I can't be left alone in my own home, I can't go to work, I can't walk down the street without holding my breath when I pass someone and then look back to see if he's trying to stab me,” Leanne said during the hearing. Lucas, dance instructor stabbed five times in Southport. – Like the girls, I have scars that nothing will heal, scars that do not allow me to move forward – she said in a statement.
Before the verdict was handed down, lawyer Deanna Heer said that there were no grounds to consider the attack in Southport a terrorist attack. – The prosecution is unable to indicate any specific reason for the terrorist attack – she emphasized. – However, the evidence shows that committing mass murder was an aim in itself for the accused – she added.
The fatalities of the attacks are three little girlsparticipants of classes at the community center in Southport. Bebe King (6 years old) described as a sweet, polite and lively child. As her parents said, she was “full of joy, light and love.” Elsie Dot Stancombe (7) – described by her family as an extraordinary girl and devoted Taylor Swift fan who “spent every day enjoying life, with determination, perseverance, love and kindness.” Alice da Silva Aguiar (9 years old) loved animals, loved to cuddle with her parents in the bedroom and “moved the world” with her confidence and empathy.
Southport attack. What is known about the accused
The attack on participants of “Taylor Swift-style” dance classes at the Hart Space community center in Sothport occurred on July 29 last year. The attacker, armed with a knife, attacked children participating in classes. Witnesses then described seeing small children covered in blood running away from the building. The editorial office of Kontakt 24 was contacted by a Pole – Mr. Marcin, who was staying nearby at the time of the incident and, together with his friend, helped the injured. – We laid the girl on the pavement and I started pressing the wounds so that she wouldn't bleed. She was unconscious, lying limp, blood dripping from her T-shirt, her head was badly cut – he told Maciej Woroch, a correspondent of “Fakty” TVN.
Southport knife attack PAP/EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
After the attack, 17-year-old Rudakubana, born in… Wales in a family of Rwandan immigrants. His home in Banks, near Southport, was also searched. The police then announced that they had found a poison – ricin – and a PDF file titled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al Qaeda Training Manual”.
During the interrogations, the teenager consistently remained silent. He also did not want to comment on the allegations in December – at Liverpool Crown Court. His silence was then treated as a failure to admit guilt. The situation changed last Monday, when before the same court he confessed to the murder last July of six-, seven- and nine-year-olds and other charges.
As the British daily The Guardian reported on Monday, citing people close to the investigation, Rudakubana “was absolutely fascinated by genocides. (…) He could list all the genocides in history and count how many people died – Rwanda, Genghis Khan, Hitler “. According to a British newspaper, one of his former schoolmates described him as a “ticking time bomb.” Rudakubana's family belonged to the Tutsi ethnic group, whose fellow countrymen from the Hutu tribe committed genocide in 1994, murdering about a million people over a three-month period.
Southport attack. Reactions
The final farewell to seven-year-old Elsie Dot StancombePAP/EPA/ADAM VAUGHAN
The July attack shocked Britain and led to several days of riots. They were preceded by false information appearing on the Internet immediately after the attack, suggesting that the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker and had arrived on the Islands by boat a year earlier. There were attacks on police officers, arson of hotels where migrants were staying, and attacks on mosques. More than 1,500 people were arrested in connection with the case.
“I am still reeling from the horror of yesterday's attack in Southport, I am in complete shock.” wrote Taylor Swiftof which the victims were fans. Goodbye girls thousands of mourners gathered. Personal condolences to the families of the victims The heir to the throne – Prince William and his wife – Duchess Kate.
Duchess Kate in Southport (10/10/2024)PAP/PA
Main photo source: Merseyside Police