The Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, said “I’m so glad those kids are dead” after he was arrested for the “sadistic” murder of three young girls and attempted murder of 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
The sentencing of the 18-year-old was halted as he shouted that he felt ill before the judge ordered him to be removed from the bulletproof dock.
In comments that interrupted the hearing for about five minutes, Rudakubana shouted: “My chest is hurting … I need to speak to a paramedic” and then at an increasing volume: “Don’t continue! Don’t continue! Don’t continue!”
About 40 relatives of the victims were inside the packed courtroom to see the teenager receive life sentences at Liverpool crown court. Shouts of “coward” could be heard from the public gallery as Rudakubana was removed from the dock.
He faces a prison term of at least 35 years after pleading guilty on what was due to be the first day of his trial over the murder of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine.
He also admitted the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults, as well as the possession of a terrorist publication – a version of an al-Qaida training manual – and having produced the deadly toxin, ricin.
Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, outlined the horrific and unsurvivable injuries suffered by his young victims at the sold-out dance class on 29 July.
The 26 girls, aged seven to 13, were gathered around a table making bracelets when Rudakubana appeared in the doorway, holding a 20cm knife, at 11.45am – just 15 minutes before the girls were due to be collected by their parents.
In court, family members of the victims were in tears as CCTV footage showed young girls screaming and running from the dance studio, seconds after Rudakubana entered.
Heer said two of Rudakubana’s victims had “suffered particularly horrific injuries which the prosecution say are difficult to explain than anything other than sadistic in nature”.
Body-worn footage recorded by police showed the chaotic scenes as officers rushed into the bloodstained building, where Rudakubana was seen “crouching” over the body of one little girl.
One officer is heard to say: “She’s dead” and another yelled “Jesus” as others screamed around them. Moments later, officers found one of the dance teachers, Heidi Liddle, who had locked herself in a toilet with one of the girls. They were escorted from the building, crying with fear and relief.
Several relatives of the victims left the courtroom, some in tears, before Heer detailed the horrifying pathological evidence of their injuries, which the Guardian has chosen not to publish. Some had suffered dozens of powerfully inflicted stab wounds.
Deer said Rudakubana was taken to a police station after his arrest, where he was heard to say: “I’m so glad those kids are dead … it makes me happy.”
This was one of a number of “unsolicited comments” recorded on CCTV footage or noted down at the time, Deer said. He was also heard to say: “So happy, six-years-old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah” and: “I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral.”
Rudakubana had planned the attack for weeks, buying two 20cm knives on Amazon using security software to conceal his identity.
The teenager was on the radar of his local police force, Lancashire constabulary, and the government’s anti-extremism programme, Prevent, when he attacked children at the Hart Space on 29 July last year.
The mass stabbing, one of the worst attacks on children in recent UK history, was not declared as a terrorist incident because detectives found no evidence it was motivated by religion, politics or ideology.
Deer said the killer had a “longstanding obsession with violence, killing and genocide” and that he had set out to “emulate” the shocking material found on his computer.
The al-Qaida handbook, she said, had “instructions on how to commit acts of terror including with a knife and with ricin”.
However, she said there was no evidence he subscribed to any political or religious ideology: “He wasn’t fighting for a cause. His only purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable in our community”.
A public inquiry will examine the missed opportunities to stop Rudakubana, who had been referred three times to Prevent, which did not believe he posed a threat.
He had been expelled from school for carrying a knife and later returned to attack a pupil with a hockey stick.
Lancashire police were called to his home at least four times between late 2021 and May 2022 due to his parents’ growing concerns about his violent and erratic behaviour.
