NewsUKCrimeRudakubana also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder following deadly attack last summer
Axel Rudakabana arrives at court accused of Southport stabbings
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The teenager accused of killing three girls at a dance class in Southport has admitted the attack on the first day of his trial.
Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29.
The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the attack, admitted their murders as well as the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He also pleaded guilty to producing the deadly poison ricin, and to the possession of an al-Qaeda training manual.
Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana will be sentenced on Thursday.
Parents of youngest victim say ‘no words can describe our devastation’Rudukabana’s youngest victim, six-year-old Bebe King, died after attending what had been advertised as a fun morning of making bracelets, dancing to Taylor Swift and yoga.
Speaking of their heartbreak, her devastated parents said: “No words can describe the devastation that has hit our family as try to deal with the loss of our little girl Bebe.”
(Merseyside Police/PA Wire)Andy Gregory20 January 2025 13:06
How a violence-obsessed teen unleashed horror at Southport children’s dance classWhen Axel Rudakubana got into a taxi in summer last year, the country had no clue of the horrors he was about to unleash on the town of Southport – and the resulting backlash which would spread across the UK in the following weeks.
The then 17-year-old travelled by taxi to the Hart Space, where he ambushed a class of children aged between six and 11 who were starting their summer holidays at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Merseyside.
The frenzied attack, launched at around 11.50am on 29 July, was described as like a scene from a disaster film when he targeted the girls while a teacher and a grandfather nearby bravely tried to defend the screaming children.
Our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin reports:
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:50
How Rudakubana entered guilty plea on opening day of trialAxel Rudakubana’s shock change of plea meant the loved ones of his young victims were not present in court to hear him admit his guilt.
And his guilty pleas came as a surprise to the judge, lawyers and press crammed into a packed courtroom at Liverpool Crown Court.
The hearing, expected to deal with legal matters at the start of a four-week trial, instead lasted little more than 15 minutes.
After trial judge Mr Justice Goose came into court at 11.27am, unusually, Stan Reiz KC, defending Rudakubana, asked permission to approach the defendant in the dock.
After a brief, inaudible interaction with the defendant, Mr Reiz asked for the charges to be put again to Rudakubana.
Wearing a face mask, seated with his head almost touching his knees, Rudakubana replied, “guilty” to each of the 16 counts on the indictment.
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:37
How did riots erupt after Southport attack?Unrest erupted across the country in the wake of the Southport attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the locations targeted.
In the hours after the stabbing, information spread online which claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.
The day after the attack, thousands turned out for a peaceful vigil in Southport, but later a separate protest outside a mosque in the town became violent, with missiles thrown at police and vans set on fire.
More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder across the country have since been made and hundreds charged and jailed.
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:35
What do we know about Southport attacker Axel Rudakubana?A profile of Axel Rudakubana’s father, printed in local newspaper the Southport Visiter in 2015 said he was originally from Rwanda, a country that suffered a deadly genocide in the early 1990s, and moved to the UK in 2002.
Rudakubana, the youngest son of the family, was born in Cardiff, where neighbours of the family described a “lovely couple” with a hardworking father and stay-at-home mother to “two boisterous boys”.
In 2013 they moved to Banks, just a few miles outside of Southport, where Rudakubana’s father trained with local martial arts clubs. The family lived in a mid-terrace three-bedroom house in a newly-built cul-de-sac of a dozen or so properties.
At 11 years old, Rudakubana appeared dressed as Doctor Who in a television advert for BBC Children In Need, after being recruited through a casting agency, it is understood.
The now-deleted clip shows him leaving the Tardis wearing a trench coat and tie to look like the show’s former star David Tennant and offering advice on how best to raise money.
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:19
Rudakubana’s teachers ‘were concerned by his violence’It can now be reported that Axel Rudakubana’s teachers had concerns about his behaviour, and he was excluded from his secondary school for an incident involving a hockey stick.
The teenager, who is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, is believed to have left Range High School in Formby in around 2019, before moving to a specialist school, where teachers were reported to be concerned at his violence towards others.
At his first appearance at Liverpool Crown Court, Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said it was understood Rudakubana had been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time.
While he was seen by the psychiatrists at the police station, he refused to engage with them, Ms Heer told the court, which heard that Rudakubana had no obvious evidence of mental health disorder which required diversion to hospital.
(Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:14
Watch: Axel Rudakabana arrives at court accused of Southport stabbingsAxel Rudakabana arrives at court accused of Southport stabbingsAndy Gregory20 January 2025 12:11
Judge apologises that families were not present to hear Rudakubana’s guilty pleasDeanna Heer KC, prosecuting, confirmed that the families of Axel Rudakubana’s victims had not attended as it was assumed the trial would open on Tuesday.
Mr Justice Goose said: “I am conscious of the fact the families are not here today”, and said he extended his apologies to the families that “for that reason they weren’t here to hear him enter his pleas”.
Ms Heer said she would speak to them before the sentence on Thursday.
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:09
Judge tells Rudakubana he will inevitably face life sentence equivalentJudge Julian Goose told Axel Rudakubana that he would inevitably face a life sentence equivalent term.
After pleading guilty to all charges, the 18-year-old kept his head down towards his knees as the judge said to him: “You have now pleaded guilty to this indictment and to each of the charges upon it. The next stage is sentence. That will take place on Thursday at 11am.”
Telling Rudakubana to keep in touch with barristers, the judge added: “You will understand it is inevitable the sentence to be imposed upon you will mean a life sentence equivalent will be imposed upon you.
“I will have to complete the sentencing process on that on that occasion.”
Andy Gregory20 January 2025 12:05
Breaking: Southport child-killer Axel Rudakubana pleads guilty on first day of trialThe 18-year-old accused of killing three girls at a dance class in Southport has admitted the attack on the first day of his trial.
Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29.
The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the attack, admitted their murders as well as the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Tom Barnes20 January 2025 11:59
