Axel Rudakubana is being sentenced today for the murder of three girls at a Taylor Swift themed birthday party in Southport last July. He is also being sentenced over the attempted murder of a further 10 people.
For the murder of the three girls: Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7 he pleaded guilty on Monday. He also admitted to possessing terrorist material and possessing a knife.
The murder hearing is set to begin at 11am today and the sentencing later this afternoon.
Buzz will keep you updated on the details via Live blog. Information sourced from BBC.
16:27pm
Judge Goose orders Axel Rudakubana to serve these sentences concurrently:
For counts 1, 2, 3 of murder he will serve custody for life with a minimum of 52 years
For counts 4-11 he is sentenced to custody for life with minimum term of 18 years.
For Counts 12 and 13 he is sentenced to custody for life with a minimum of 16 years.
For counts 14 and 16 he is sentenced to 18 months in custody.
In total Axel Rudakubana received 13 sentences of custody for life. He will served a minimum of 52 years at which point he may be eligible for parole.
16:17pm
“Likely he will never be released,” said Mr Justice Goose.
16:16pm
Judge Goose explained that had the defendant been over 18 at the time of the crime he would want to give him a life sentence.
16:16pm
The judge explained that he excepts the prosecutions conclusion the violence is equivalent to terrorist violence. calling it a “very extreme level of crime.”
16:14pm
“I am satisfied that for some time he had planned to try to kill as many people as he could”
“I am satisfied that in time he was highly likely to use the ricin he produced”
16:12pm
The judge is outlining the elements of the case that suggest it was predetermined such at the knife manuals and terrosism documents on his devices.
16:10pm
“The harm that he caused to each family, child and the community has been profound and permanent.” said Judge Goose.
16:10pm
Judge Goose explains the injuries sustained to all survivors that were involved.
16:08pm
The judge concluded the injuries sustained: Elsie Dot Stancombe received 85 sharp force injuries. 122 sharp force injuries to Bebe king, it was concluded the defendant tried to behead her. Alice da Silva Aguiar stab wounds to the back and one to the head, she passed the following day.
16:05pm
Statement from the judge:
The judge says he wanted to create the “maximum suffering he could”. “It was at least the most extreme and shocking crime:
16:03pm
Sentencing is about to begin.
16:01pm
Mitigation from Rudakubana’s lawyer, Stan Reiz KC: “Something changed in him when he reached the age of 13. He was soon after excluded from school…and he never settled in any other school. Efforts to support him were unsuccessful… he became more detached and reclusive…had a level of maturity that fell far below his age.”
16:00pm
The court is now hearing the concluding statements from the prosecution.
They said that for this crime to be terrorism the reasoning behind the attack has to be for the advancing of a political, religious, racial or ideological cause.
“It is not possible for the prosecution to identify any particular terrorist cause.,” said the prosecution.
“The evidence suggests that the defendant’s purpose was the commission of mass murder.”
This was the concluding statement of the prosecution.
15:55pm
A statement from the mother of young girl who survived by hiding in a bathroom with Heidi Liddle:
Following the arrival of the emergency services, I ran into the building after them to be with my daughter who I already believed was seriously injured or dead. The police told me I couldn’t go in the room.
To my relief I turned around .. and saw her standing there with the other event leader, Heidi.
Heidi saved my girl that day by following her to the toilet after she headed there instead of down the stairs and out the door with the other children.
15:47pm
The court has heard a statement from the parents of two sisters who survived:
It was the worst day of our lives. Both of our daughters suffered horrendous injuries…the girls are resilient but the injuries they sustained still affect them.
Since the incident the girls can’t be alone. They don’t leave their parents’ side. They sleep with their parents. They are unable to walk to school without feeling scared.
They won’t get out of the car if it’s dark outside. Any slight noise can alarm them. They struggle with simple things that weren’t a problem before, like taking a shower and brushing teeth. It’s like having babies again.
15:36pm
The court heard from another child survivor:
I realised it wasn’t a prank when I saw blood coming out of me.
I remember everything being fuzzy and everything that was going through my mind was about my family and friends. I was thinking “I don’t want to die, I have got to get out of here.”
15:31pm
A mother of a child who survived the attack (“Child A”) said she her daughter thought the attack was a prank and she told the defendant she “didn’t want to play”. She was then attacked.
“Our world collapsed in that moment and we are still trying to rebuild it,” she said.
“When she woke up [from surgery] she lunged forward and reached her arms out – reaching for her best friend… still believing she was in danger, trying to get to her.”
“They were separated in the most terrifying way.”
15:20pm
A statement has been read on behalf of Heidi Liddle, the other dance instructor present during the attack:
I replayed the incident over and over in my mind, changing the sequence of events.
I struggled mentally with not being physically injured and felt guilty for this.
15:19pm
The court hears a statement from Jenny Stancombe, Elsie Dot Stancombe’s mother read out by the prosecution:
What you did was not only cruel and pure evil, it was the act of a coward.
Though you have stolen our daughter from us, you will not take away our determination to honour her memory. We will carry her love, positivity and her legacy forward, no matter how much pain you have caused.
15:10pm
“It feels like we’re stuck in a 5D horror movie with moving pictures and moments being relived. We can’t get out. Some moments are easier than others but every day is the same. Alice is not here when we wake up and she never will be,” said parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, who was killed in the attack.
14:59pm
A teenage survivor’s statement was heard in court: All I could heard was the screams. I was so scared of what you were doing and I was in a blind panic.
14:51pm
Dance Instructor Leanne Lucas’ full statement that was read in court:
As a 36-year-old woman, I cannot stay in my own home alone. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot go to work. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot walk down the street without holding my breath as I bypass a person and then glance back to see if they’ve attempted to stab me.
As a 36-year-old woman I cannot enter a public place without considering how I will get out in the event of an emergency. As a 36-year-old woman I cannot give myself compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died.
There was a long period of time after the incident where I felt I had no trust in society. I am trying to see the goodness in the world however the badness has been evidentially proven to me to exist, in plain sight, on our doorsteps, in our community.
You never think this is going to happen to you, I never thought this was going to happen to me and now my mindset has been altered to it could happen to you and it will probably happen to you. I feel that I have lost the ability to accept people now as they are. I worked with teenagers, I never would have considered that they would hurt me or hurt younger children.
I spent many months thinking about the incident 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just when I felt I could settle and try to move forward, the trauma of that day is now back at the forefront. I constantly see his face; new memories have appeared, and this will continue to happen for the rest of my life.
My role in Southport was to help others, mainly children and their families. My work was a safe haven for those who needed it the most.
All I wanted to do was make a positive impact and highlight goodness and positivity. Families felt a part of a community I had built, from scratch, being self-employed. I have now lost my role, my purpose and my job as I can no longer provide that guidance and reassurance to anyone.
I feel like I can no longer be trusted again, I know people will disagree and say that is not true however his actions have proven I can never feel that level of responsibility again where there may be dangers to others. On that day I received several injuries that have not only affected me physically, but also mentally. I, as do the girls, have scars we cannot unsee, scars we cannot move on from.
Visual daily reminders of not only what he has done to us, but a stark reminder of what others can still do to us. I endured three hospital stays where I undertook multiple surgeries and received treatment for my injuries.
At a time where home comforts may have helped me, I sat staring at a hospital wall further impacting my mental health.
My family and friends suffered during this whole period of time, not being able to process what had been done because they were sat by my bed side trying to support me. The trauma of being both a victim and a witness has been horrendous. There are times when I will spiral into trauma and the effect this has had on those close to me is unforgivable.
The impact this has had on me can be summed up by one word: trauma. He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey. To discover that he had always set out to hurt the vulnerable is beyond comprehensible. For Alice, Elsie, Bebe, Heidi and the surviving girls, I’m surviving for you.
14:49pm
A father of a stabbing victim that survived reads a statement:
in the words of his 9-year-old daughter: “I struggle with my emotions, and I have scars that I know will be with me forever, but I want to look forward.
“When people in school asked me ‘do you wish you weren’t there that day’ I said that, in some ways, I wish I wasn’t, but also, if I wasn’t there, someone else would have been stabbed and they could have died, so I’m glad I might have stopped someone else getting hurt.”
“Our daughter is everything that Axel Rudakubana is not. She is our hero.” said her father.
14:46pm
the court hears that the week before the attack the defendant purchases knives then booked a taxi under the name ‘Simon’ to high previous school. He was spotted by his father who pleaded with the driver not to take him. Rudakubana got out of the car.
“It is unlikely to be a coincidence – the prosecution say – that this was the last day of term, with students due to leave the school premises at 12:30 for the summer. The court may infer that this was an earlier attempt to commit offences similar to those he was to carry out at The Hart Space a week later.” said the prosecution.
14:40pm
The prosecution outlined evidence to suggested the murder was premeditated such as the defendants violent past.
Heer mentioned that when asked about the ricin and terrorism manuals Rudakubana remained silent.
Heer also mentioned his past: On 4 October 2019 he contacted Childline asking: “What should I do if I want to kill somebody?”
A referral was made to the police who visited the defendants house. Referals were also made to MASH and CAMHS.
In 2019 the defendant brought a knife into school to “use it”. later that year he went back to the same school and attacked another pupil with a hockey stick. He was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, possession of an offensive weapon and possession of a bladed article.
in 2019 he also searched up school shootings in a school IT class.
14:39pm
The prosecution went on to explain that there also images on his devices relating to wars and international conflicts. There was also violent images such as of corpses, torture victims, beheadings and rape.
“It shows that he was fascinated with violence of an extreme nature, that he had obtained information on killings and how to kill and obtained weapons capable of killing,” said Heer.
14:37pm
The police also found multiple images of knives and machetes that the defendant had searched for online intending to purchase.
The defendant also sent emails to online retailers asking about things such as if they could be delivered in discreet packaging.
14:33pm
Heer (prosecution) explained the documents police found the defendant had downloaded. This included one called Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual, which contained advice on committing acts of terrorism. At the time of the attack Rudakubana was also in possession of an instructions manual on usual a knife to attack and kill.
14:29pm
The prosecution explains there’s no evidence that ricin was used during the attack or at any other time. In the defendants home they did find: a machete, set of arrows and a black holdall. They also found a knife identical to the one he used for the killings.
14:26pm
Rudakubana is shouting again: “I need to be seen by a paramedic – I feel ill.”
The judge has had his removed for a second time. Rudakubana has been seen by two sets of paramedics who said he was fit to attend the hearing this afternoon.
14:26pm
Heer is now telling the court about the ricin found in Axel Rudakubana’s home after his arrest. It is an extremely toxic poison that can cause multi-organ failure and death.
14:25pm
The court are hearing more of what Rudakubana said after his arrest:
“I don’t care, I’m feeling neutral. Literally, such a good thing those kids are dead, 6 years old… So happy, 6 years old. It’s a good thing they are dead, yeah.”
14:20pm
Court has resumed and Axel Rudakubana is back in the dock.
13:02pm
The court is breaking for lunch until 2pm.
13:01pm
Dance instructor Leanne Lucas was stabbed five times but survived.
12:58pm
The court is now hearing of injuries to the children who survived the attack – they cannot be identified due to a court order.
Those attacked were all girls, the youngest aged 7 some had severe injuries but survived.
12:55pm
Alice Da Silva Aguiar, aged nine, died the morning after the attack. Although she escaped the building and was taken to hospital, receiving emergency surgery she was pronounced dead at 01:20 the following morning.
12:53pm
The court heard that Elsie Dot Stancombe could not have been saved, no matter how quickly paramedics arrived due to the extent of her injuries.
The court also heard that Bebe King had some “defensive” injuries. The pathologist states that her injuries were untreatable however quickly paramedics arrived.
12:46pm
13 people were stabbed and three killed by Axel Rudakubana.
the court are now hearing the details of the injuries sustained. Several people have run out of the public gallery.
The families of the children have asked reporters not to report the graphic nature of their injuries so that is all the information we have for now.
12:45pm
CCTV is shown of another child collapsing in the street and then being helped by a member of the public. She survived.
The court is also sees CCTV and bodycam footage of the first police officer arriving on the scene.
Body-worn video footage shows blood on the stairwell as well as a child lying on the floor. The officers then confront Rudakubana who is then handcuffed.
12:41am
Dashcam footage from the taxi shows the defendant attempting to enter the building.
CCTV shows children fleeing the building.
The court is pausing once again so that people can leave before images of wounded children, including Alice da Silva Aguiar are shown.
12:39pm
The prosecution describes how police Sgt Gillespie found the body of Elsie Dot Stancombe.
“Soon afterwards, Heidi Liddle and Eva were found hiding in the toilet. Crying with fear and relief, they were escorted from the building,” said the prosecution.
The prosecution then paused to allow those who with to to leave the court before distressing evidence is presenting.
The court see Rudakubana clothes that day: a green hoodie and facemask.
12:33pm – warning distressing details.
Heer explained that Marcin Tyjon and Joel Verite were driving along Hart Street when they saw a group of children running across the road and Leanne Lucas covered in blood.
She screamed that someone was stabbing the kids. Verite went to help, picking up Alice Da Silva Aguiar. Marcin Tyjon then tried to administer CPR on the instructions of a 999 operator. Verite ran into the building and up the stairs, but saw the defendant holding a knife and retreated.
An officer arrived at the scene at 11.57. Verite entered the premises, accompanied by another officer.
The defendant was standing over the body of Bebe King. He was holding a large, bloodied, kitchen knife, which he dropped when told to by the officer.
Verite, picked up Bebe King, carrying her out of the building, screaming as he did so.
12:31pm
Jonathon Hayes who worked in an office across the landing from the dance studio, tried to help the injured children in the car park but was stabbed by the defendant.
12:26pm – warning distressing details.
Heer explains that the instructor ran down the stairs with the children, calling 999. Once in the car park, she told them to “run away, run away”.
One of the girls ran into toilet on the landing at the top of the stairs, teacher Heidi Liddle followed her inside, locking the door and She told the girl to keep quiet. She then heard screams from the other children asking the attacker to stop.
A mother was waiting to collect her daughter and managed to pull her into the car. Three other children also got into her car. Alice Da Silva Aguiar collapsed by the side of the vehicle, badly injured.
CCTV footage shows a child trying to leave the building, only to be pulled back inside by the defendant. She is then seen stumbling then collapsing outside.
12:21pm – warning distressing details.
The prosecution told the court about when the defendant entered the dance studio.
“Without saying a word, he grabbed the child nearest to him from behind and put his arm around her,” she said.
“At first, Leanne Lucas [the instructor] thought he was there to collect her, but he then moved on to a second child and then a third, Alice Da Silva Aguiar.”
She explained that the dance instructor didn’t realise he was armed and attacking until she had been stabbed in the back.
12:19pm
The defendant ordered a taxi to the scene of the crime under a fake name ‘Simon’. The taxi dash cam shows him remaining silent throughout the journey. On arrival he left the taxi without paying.
12:18pm
Computer evidence shows that before leaving his house to commit the murders Rudakubana deleted his internet history in an attempt to cover his traces.
12:15pm
The prosecution is now continuing their case with an empty dock. They are explaining Rudakubana’s steps the day of the killings. “He had with him a kitchen knife with a 20cm-long blade,” Heer tells the court. He purchased the knives on amazon using a VPN in an attempt to hide his identity.
12:10pm – BREAKING
‘I can’t continue, my chest hurts’ shouts Rudakubana. “I’m not going to remain quiet I am in pain!” he said.
Reiz told the court his client wanted to see a paramedic for chest pain.
He has now been removed from the dock by security. the Judge is insisting the hearing must continue.
“Shouting from the dock is not going to make this happen any quicker. If you remain quiet you will be able to see someone,” said the judge.
12:07pm – BREAKING
Rudakubana is shouting in the courtroom: “I need a paramedic because I feel ill!”
The judge, says Rudakubana has been seen by medical staff this morning and is fit to attend.
Rudakubana’s lawyer, tells the court that the defendant hasn’t eaten or drunk for some time.
Reiz says he spoke to Rudakubana this morning and he said he was well enough.
12:02pm
The court also heard that while under arrest at the police station, Rudakubana was heard to say: “It’s a good thing those children are dead… I’m so glad… so happy.”
12:02pm
A number of weapons were recovered from the defendants bedroom following his arrest, the court hears.
11:59am – BREAKING
Axel Rudakubana was taken to hospital for medical attention in the early hours of this morning but is now in court.
11:58am
Axel Rudakubana is now in court. He is wearing grey sweatshirt and trousers and a surgical / covid mask.
11:36am
Deanna Here KC is leading the prosecution team. Stan Reiz KC is leading the defence. The judge for the case is Mr Justice Goose.
11:31am
The courtroom in Liverpool crown court is full. Victims families are among them. Axel Rudakubana has not entered the dock yet.
11:25am
There are delays in the hearing beginning. More information soon.
11:10am
Could the southport murders have been prevented?
After Rudakubana’s guilty pleas information about his past has been discovered. Including the fact he was known to police and anti-extremism authorities.
One of Rudakubana’s early examples of violence was when he brought a knife into his school in 2019 causing him to be expelled.
He was also on the radar of the government’s anti-extremism programme ‘PREVENT’ due to him showing interest in school shootings, the London Bridge attack, the IRA and MI5. He was referred to PREVENT three times before the murders.
11:00am
The hearing is due to start. First outlines of the case will be heard from the prosecution and then the defence.
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