The Southport killer who stabbed to death three girls during a Taylor Swift themed dance class called Childine with a chilling message five years prior to the attack. Liverpool Crown Court heard Axel Rudakubana contacted the charity in October 2019 and asked: “What should I do if I want to kill somebody?”
The 18-year-old’s violent past included being referred to Prevent for researching American school shootings, the London Bridge terror attack and uploading pictures of Colonel Gaddafi to Instagram, prosecutors said at his sentencing on Thursday.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died in the attack in the Hart Space on a small business park in Southport shortly before midday on July 29 last year. Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He also admitted to possessing a knife on the date of the killings, which he bought off Amazon, production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told the court the defendant had said he “wanted to stab someone” so he could get his TikTok account taken down as it contained “embarrassing videos that he was unable to delete”. Rudakubana was also reported missing in March 2022 before he was found by police in possession of a small kitchen knife, reports the Mirror.
Rudakubana’s previous convictions for assault, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article were also briefly outlined in court. The prosecutor said on December 11 2019, the defendant booked a taxi to take him to The Range High School, where he used a hockey stick to attack another pupil.
When the police were called, a kitchen knife was found in his backpack. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, the offences and a referral order was imposed.
During today’s hearing he has been removed from the dock twice for shouting out, but is set to be brought back in just before his jail term is announced. The court was shown CCTV showing the moment children start screaming and running from the Hart Space. People started crying and covering their ears in court, as couples cuddled each other in the public gallery.
The CCTV then showed the moment Ms Lucas, who was injured, ushered children away from the scene as Alice Da Silva Aguir, also injured, stumbled into the car park and tried to get into someone’s car to escape. Another clip showed fellow dance teacher Heidi Liddle opening the door to the toilet cubicle she had barricaded herself into with one of the children to protect them from Rudakubana.
The court heard Elsie Dot Stancombe and Bebe King were pronounced dead at the scene. More than 30 members of the victims’ families were in the public gallery of the court for the sentencing and the court heard there were others in an annexe.
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