Police locked in long US legal process to access Southport killer’s online history
Police locked in long US legal process to access Southport killer’s online history
Share:
Investigators fear it could be years before they get Axel Rudakubana’s search data which could hold vital clues. Police have been unable to see what Axel Rudakubana was searching online before his “sadistic” Southport attack as they are locked in a lengthy US legal process to obtain the data from Google and Microsoft, it can be revealed.
The missing internet history could hold vital clues about why the killer targeted young girls but it was deleted by Rudakubana 10 minutes before leaving home to carry out the “ferocious assault” on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Police fear it could be years before they see the evidence because they have had to apply for it using a specialist prosecutor in the US, where the technology companies are based.
DCI Jason Pye, the detective leading the investigation for Merseyside police, said: “We’re going through that process at the moment but we’ve been told it could be years.”. The browsing history is potentially highly significant as it is thought to show what Rudakubana, 18, was searching for in the months leading up to his “planned and premeditated” attack, in which he “sadistically” murdered three young girls and attempted to kill eight other children, plus two adults who tried to save them.
One question that has remained a mystery is why the teenager specifically targeted the dance class for young girls, which was five miles from his home in the Lancashire village of Banks. Officers believe he must have seen the event advertised but have so far been unable to prove that is the case. He bought the 20cm kitchen knife used in the attack on Amazon just days after the class was advertised on 7 July.
