The parents of two of the girls murdered in the Southport stabbings have spoken out for the first time to pay tribute to their “special” daughters.
The families of six-year-old Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, opened up about the horrific day they dropped their kids off at a dance class in Southport, Merseyside and never saw them alive again. They and a third victim, nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar, were stabbed to death by sick Axel Rudakubana.
The 18-year-old knife killer was sentenced to life in prison last month with a minimum 52-year term after the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29. Rudakubana also tried to murder eight other children along with Leanne Lucas, class instructor, and businessman John Hayres, the Mirror reports.
Now, the parents of Bebe and Elsie have spoken out about the “spark” and kindness of their daughters and how the community has rallied to help the devastated families. In an interview with The Sunday Times, they said the support of their neighbours had been a “light in the darkness”.
Bebe’s father, 43, recounted how a police officer approached him on the day of the killings as he searched the streets for his child. He said: “We had given people Bebe’s description. When that person came towards me, I could feel the blood drain from me and I went cold.
“I knew she was going to tell me something. And she did. ‘Are you Bebe’s dad?’ As soon as I said yes she said she had passed away.”
Elsie’s mum Jenni Stancombe said she watched her daughter run excitedly into the class at Hart Space studio after dropping her off that morning. She said: “I watched her sit down and waved her off and I left her.
She recounted how shortly after midday, another mother called her to say: “Something awful has happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids.”
Ms Stancombe continued: “I said, ‘What do you mean?’ She went, ‘It’s really bad. You need to get here’.
“I just ran. I left the whole house open and got in the car.”
Speaking about massive Swiftie fan Elsie, she added: “Everyone says it, don’t they, that they’re one of a kind. But she truly was.
“It was an honour to be her mum. Sometimes I think people are born special, and I genuinely believe she was.”
Elsie was remembered as an “extraordinary girl” at her funeral, where she was described as “a little girl who loved a big party” – with balloons, bubbles and one of her favourite Taylor Swift songs played at the service.
Bebe’s parents, who can’t be named for legal reasons, also spoke lovingly of their young daughter. The six-year-old’s mum said: “Bebe operated on such a high frequency. She had this power to connect with people and the relationships she had with all her family members were different but very special.
“She had this innate kindness. She had a spark.”
Huge numbers of flowers and toys were left outside the town hall in Southport and a display was arranged by a local gardening group.
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