CHILD-KILLER Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to a minimum term of 52 years in prison following the murders of three girls at a dance class in Southport last year.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, died following the attack at a Taylor Swift-themed class shortly before midday on July 29, 2024.
Rudakubana, 18, pleaded guilty to all 16 offences he faced on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, January 20.
The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the killings, admitted the young girls' murders as well as the attempted murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons; class instructor Leanne Lucas; and businessman John Hayes.
Cardiff-born Rudakubana further pleaded guilty to:
- Possessing a knife on the date of the killings, which he bought on Amazon
- Production of a biological toxin, ricin, on or before July 29
- Possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism (a PDF file entitled Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual)
Axel Rudakubana sentenced following Southport murders
The grieving families of two of the Southport murder victims have branded their daughters’ killer as “pure evil” whose actions have left them in “continuous pain”.
Heart-rending victim impact statements from the mother of Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and the parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were read to Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday ahead of Axel Rudakubana’s sentencing.
Whilst sentencing, Judge Mr Justice Goose said: "There is no evidence that Rudakubana's purpose was to advance political, religious, racial or ideological cause. I must accept that conclusion."
