The 18-year-old Southport killer was given a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years in prison for the "sadistic" murders of three young girls in Southport in the United Kingdom, which had been described as "shocking" and "pure evil.”
'SOUTHPORT KILLER sentenced to 52 YEARS in jail after receiving 13 life sentences'
Axel Rudakubana will serve a minimum of 52 years in jail after receiving 13 sentences of custody for life.
Delivering the sentencing in Rudakubana's absence - due to earlier disruptions - Mr… pic.twitter.com/LNKDmswe6p— Charlie Bentley-Astor (@astor_charlie) January 23, 2025
Axel Rudakubana admitted to killing seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, six-year-old Bebe King, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in July last year, an attack that horrified the world and even sparked far-right riots over false reports of the killer’s identity.
Along with the three girls who were murdered, eight other children and two adults, dance class leader Leanne Lucas and businessman Jonathan Hayes, were seriously injured, as Rudakubana also attempted to murder them. He carried out the brutal attack using a knife he bought from Amazon, which prompted the British government to introduce a new policy that would enforce stricter rules for buying knives online for those below 18.
Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to a wide range of other charges, including producing a biological toxin and the possession of an al-Qaeda instruction manual, which is a serious offense under the country’s terrorism laws.
Its a shame he wasn’t shot by police on the scene
— watchyobackmofo (@watchyobackmofo) January 23, 2025
As he was being sentenced at the Liverpool Crown Court, Rudakubana refused to come to the courtroom and had been removed from the dock in earlier instances due to disruptive behavior, which included demands to see a paramedic and shouting, "I feel ill.”
Sentencing him, Judge Justice Goose said, "Many who have heard the evidence might describe what he did as evil, who could dispute it?" referring to the terrifying details of Rudakubana’s crimes that were laid out during the trial for the first time.
The court heard how the teenager went to the dance workshop, systematically killed the three young girls, and attempted to murder the others as they made friendship bracelets and sang along to Taylor Swift’s songs.
how come #Islam produces so many psychopaths?
— mayorchikit (@mayorchikit) January 25, 2025
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC also described how Rudakubana bragged about the attacks after he was arrested and brought to the police station, saying he was "glad the children were dead.” She also played footage of the killer asking the driver of the taxi he took to get to the place where he committed the crime to take him to the address of the workshop before he got out.
"I am sure Rudakubana had the settled determination to carry out these offenses, and had he been able to, he would have killed each and every child – all 26 of them," Justice Goose also said in his sentencing remarks.
Even though he was charged with owning material produced by a designated group, police did not treat the incident as a terrorist attack. Justice Goose also confirmed that Rudakubana’s crimes did not reach the legal definition of terrorism because he did not appear to follow an ideology. He did not commit the heinous murders to advance a particular cause.
The girls' families will pay for his life via taxes.
— Koka (@kokus) January 23, 2025
Instead, the Southport killings appear to be motivated primarily by Rudakubana’s interest in extreme violence, as demonstrated by early warning signs throughout his adolescent life. He began to exhibit anger issues and a propensity for violence.
Fellow students recall his obsession with figures such as Adolf Hitler and Genghis Khan. He was even expelled from one of the schools he attended in 2019 for carrying a knife at its premises.
UK’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced that a public inquiry would be held to look at any “missed opportunities” to identify Rudakubana’s murderous intent, and a learning review on Prevent, the country’s counter-terrorism program, will criticize officers for failing to properly take into account his obsession with extreme violence that led to the killings.
