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WARNING: This story contains details of violence involving young children.
A British judge sentenced a teenager who killed three young girls to at least 52 years in prison on Thursday, after the killer was removed from the dock due to an interruption of sentencing.
On Monday, Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted to the murders of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, last July in the northern English town of Southport, a crime that sparked days of nationwide unrest. .
Two of his victims suffered “horrendous injuries which … are difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature”, prosecutor Deanna Heer told Liverpool Crown Court earlier.
“I’m glad those kids are dead, that makes me happy,” Rudakubana told police after the attack, Heer said.
Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to 10 counts of attempted murder, as well as manufacturing the deadly poison ricin and possessing al-Qaeda training manuals. Eight of the 10 victims who sustained non-fatal injuries were also children.
The prosecutor also said that al-Qaeda’s training manual contained advice on killing with a knife, but that Rudakubana was not inspired by any political or religious ideology.
The children had attended a Taylor Swift-themed dance party, but there was never any indication that the gunman knew the details of what was going on at Hart Space in Southport.
Judge Julian Goose said the fact that Rudakubana was nine days shy of his 18th birthday at the time restricted him under British law from imposing a “whole life” sentence, but expressed his belief that he was unlikely to walk free.
The murderer’s sentences for different crimes are concurrent.
Said previous disturbing behavior
Heer said the two girls suffered at least 85 and 122 stab wounds, inflicted by Rudakubana with a 20-centimeter-long knife he bought online from Amazon under a pseudonym.
She described the scene of horror, and the court was shown a video of young girls running away from the building screaming. One bloody girl was seen collapsing outside, prompting gasps and sobs from the public gallery.
Pictures and documents found on a computer in his home show he “had a long-standing obsession with violence, killing and genocide,” Heer said.
In 2019, Rudakubana contacted the Children’s Helpline, the prosecutor said, and asked, “What should I do if I want to kill someone?”
He was kicked out of the school shortly after after admitting to taking the knife there 10 times, and was later arrested with the knife in his backpack after he returned to the school and attacked a student with a hockey stick, Heer said.
Shortly after the sentencing began, Rudakubana was removed from the dock after repeatedly shouting that he was not feeling well. Someone shouted “coward” as he left.
The UK government wants social media to do more to stop the spread of misinformation after it spread on platforms such as X and sparked violent protests.
The killings were followed by nationwide riots that led to dozens of arrests. Misinformation spread on the Internet incorrectly stated that Rudakubana was a refugee and a Muslim.
The teenager was born in Cardiff, Wales to parents of Rwandan descent.
