Southport murderer Axel Rudakubana has been jailed for a minimum of 52 years – with the judge saying it’s “highly likely” he will never be released.
Warning: This article contains details of violence that some readers might find distressing.
The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
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Rudakubana also admitted trying to murder eight other children, as well as instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes, on 29 July last year.
The judge, Mr Justice Goose, gave him 13 life sentences and said if Rudakubana had been 18 at the time of the attack he would have received a whole-life term – meaning no possibility of release.
He said the killings had caused “shock and revulsion” to the nation and Rudakubana would have killed all 26 children if he’d been able.
Alice, Bebe and Elsie were stabbed multiple times in a ferocious attack that lasted 15 minutes.
Prosecutors told the court that, while in custody, the 18-year-old said: “It’s a good thing those children are dead, I’m so glad, I’m so happy.”
Rudakubana’s attack on “innocent, happy young girls” was clearly premeditated and he had showed no remorse, the judge added.
He will be 70 before a parole board can consider releasing him, but the judge said it was “highly likely” he will never be freed.
The triple-killer was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court, but was not present for the judge’s remarks after telling his lawyer he would be “disruptive” during proceedings.
During sentencing earlier in the day he was twice ordered out of the dock after shouting that he “felt ill”.
Rudakubana told his lawyer he had chest pains, was too ill to continue and wanted to see a paramedic, but the judge said two paramedics had deemed him fit to continue.
‘How can I live knowing children died?’
Before sentencing, the court heard emotional statements from victims and families.
Alice’s family – who had been planning to surprise her with a trip to Disneyland – said she was “strong and confident” with “unlimited potential”. They said her death had “shattered our souls”.
Elsie’s mum said Rudakubana was a coward and “beyond contempt”.
“He took our daughter. There’s no greater loss and no greater pain. He has left us with a lifetime of grief,” she said.
Dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who was stabbed in the back, said she couldn’t give herself “compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died?”.
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Killer pulled girl back inside
Rudakubana was 17 when he walked into the dance studio before silently, indiscriminately stabbing his victims with a kitchen knife – a 20cm blade he had bought on Amazon using encrypted software to hide his identity.
He stabbed some of his victims in the back as they tried to escape, pulling one girl back inside to attack her – she was knifed dozens of times but survived.
Police arrested Rudakubana inside the Hart Space venue as he stood over a body, still holding the knife.
Officers later found a plastic kitchen box containing the toxin ricin under his bed in the village of Banks, Lancashire, along with other weapons including a machete and arrows.
An analysis of his devices revealed an obsession with violence, war and genocide, with documents discovered including an academic study of an al Qaeda training manual.
Police believe he used techniques he learned from the PDF file, which contained instructions on how to commit knife and ricin attacks, to carry out the mass stabbing.
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‘Cowardly and vicious’
The 18-year-old pleaded guilty to charges of producing ricin and possession of information useful for the purposes of terrorism.
The judge said it was highly likely he would have used the potent toxin if he hadn’t carried out the stabbing attack.
Merseyside police chief Serena Kennedy said there was no evidence Rudakubana ascribed to any political or religious ideology and was not fighting for a cause, so the “cowardly and vicious attack” was not treated as terrorism.
“This is a young man with an unhealthy obsession with violence,” she said.
“His only purpose was to kill the youngest and most vulnerable and spread the greatest level of fear and outrage, which he succeeded in doing.”
The attack sparked the UK riots last summer after false claims online that Rudakubana – born in Cardiff to Christian parents from Rwanda – was a newly arrived asylum seeker.
Missed opportunities
The government has announced an inquiry into how the state failed to recognise the risk posed by Rudakubana and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said he will consider changing the definition of terrorism if necessary.
The teenager was referred three times by schools to the government’s anti-extremism programme between 2019 and 2021 over concerns about his interest in school shootings, Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and the London Bridge attacks.
He also had repeated contact with police, the courts, the justice system and mental health services in the years before he carried out the attack, including over using school computers to research acts of violence.
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Rudakubana was expelled from school for saying he was carrying a knife in October 2019, but returned to attack another pupil with a hockey stick, while carrying a knife in his backpack.
He pleaded guilty to assault, possession of an offensive weapon, and possession of a knife over the incident and received a youth justice referral order focused on knife crime.
His parents called police four times about his behaviour, including on one occasion in May 2022 after they restricted his access to a computer.
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On another occasion in March of the same year, a bus driver called the police because he had not paid the fare, and he told officers he had a knife, but they took him home to talk to his mother about securing knives at home.
No disciplinary proceedings have been brought against anyone involved in dealing with his case.
