Southport child-killer detained for at least 52 years for ‘sadistic’ murders

Southport child-killer Axel Rudakubana is likely to die behind bars after receiving one of the highest minimum terms on record for the “sadistic” murders of three girls at a dance class.

The 18-year-old was not present to hear the judge impose a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years, as the court was told he was likely to be “disruptive” if he was to enter the courtroom.

The horrific details of his attack on the Taylor Swift-themed class were outlined – with some CCTV footage prompting prosecutors to ask families if they would like to leave the court.

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 the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29.

Rudakubana also attempted to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

He had been due to stand trial on Monday but dramatically changed his pleas to guilty, which was the first time he had spoken in court.

Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, also admitted possession of a knife, production of a biological toxin, ricin, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

Shouting

As prosecutor Deanna Heer KC began to lay out the chilling facts of the case, the previously tight-lipped defendant began repeatedly shouting – forcing Mr Justice Goose to order his removal from the dock.

His outbursts meant he was not in court to hear heart-rending victim impact statements from the grieving families of two of the three murder victims – including Elsie’s mother Jenny, who described Rudakubana as “cruel and pure evil”.

He was removed from the dock twice throughout his sentencing hearing, with the judge saying: “He has been seen by two teams of paramedics, both of whom agreed he is fit.”

After his defence barrister Stanley Reiz KC said the killer’s behaviour in court indicated his lack of maturity, Mr Justice Goose replied: “I think that’s more a matter of wanting to control things.”

Harrowing evidence of the injuries suffered by the girls was read to the court, with Bebe suffering a total of 122 sharp force injuries and Elsie being subjected to 85.

Ms Heer said the injuries suffered by the Southport murder victims were “difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature”.

Rudakubana’s horrifying words from a police custody suite shortly after the attack were also read to the court, with the defendant saying things such as: “I’m so glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy.”

Police and the government anti-terror programme, Prevent, were put under further scrutiny during the hearing as aspects of the killer’s disturbing background were aired in court.

Hockey stick

The court heard he had attacked a pupil with a hockey stick, used school computers to look up the London Bridge terror outrage and carried a knife on a bus and into class before he carried out the Southport murders.

Despite the wide-ranging devastation Rudakubana caused in the Southport attack, Mr Justice Goose said he “must accept” his actions did not “meet the definition of an act of terrorism”, but added: “His culpability is equivalent in its seriousness to terrorist murders, whatever his purpose.”

The minimum term Rudakubana must serve in custody for the Southport attack is one of the highest on record, and is thought to be the longest punishment handed to a killer of his age.

However, within minutes of him being jailed, Government law officers announced they had received a request to consider whether the 52-year minimum term was too short.

The Attorney General’s office said the case was referred under the unduly lenient sentence scheme – with just one request needed for it to be considered.

Unrest erupted across England 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.