The sentencing of Southport killer Axel Rudakubana dominates Friday’s front pages. The Guardian, The Independent and Metro all lead on the 18-year-old being put behind bars for at least 52 years after killing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Meanwhile, the Daily Express and Daily Mail report on the parents of the three victims calling Rudakubana “pure evil” and a “coward” as he refused to appear in court for the sentencing. The mother of six-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe told her daughter’s killer she hopes his actions “haunt you every single day”, according to the Daily Mirror.
The Daily Telegraph writes a “great obliterating numbness” settled over the Liverpool Crown Court as the sentence was read aloud. The i leads on the “brave heroes” who rushed to save 23 other children from the attacker. The Sun focuses on moving words from a witness statement: “When we think of Southport, we’ll think of the girls . Their bravery, their strength. He will not win.”.
The Times says the sentencing had sparked calls for legal reform after Rudakubana avoided a whole-life order without the possibility of parole due to his age. But a judge told the court the killer was “likely” to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
