Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to killing three young girls at a Southport dance class and attempting to murder several more. The then 17-year-old stabbed to death Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at the Hart Space’s Taylor Swift-themed event on July 29 last year.
Image Credit: Metro [FILE PHOTO: Southport murder suspect Axel Rudakubana appears via video link at the Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with production of the deadly poison ricin and a terrorism offence, in London, Britain, October 30, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. Courtesy of Julia Quenzler/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo]
He also injured eight other children, who can not be named for legal reason, and two adults, Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes. Rudakubana, now 18, had previously refused to enter a plea or even speak. But today, on the first day of his trial today at Liverpool Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
Image Credit: Metro [Axel Rudakubana]
The horrific killings shocked the country and also led to several riots, fueled by misinformation that Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived on a small boat. The teenager was in fact born in Wales to Rwandan parents, who are Christian. Here, we take a closer look at Rudakubana, who showed promise as a young actor but became a recluse obsessed with genocides in his teenage years.
Image Credit: Metro [Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, from Banks in Lancashire has today (Monday 20 January 2025) pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to all 16 counts he was charged with. They were three charges of murder; 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife - all relating to the incident at Hart Street, Southport on 29 July 2024. He was additionally charged on 29 October with production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974; and possessing information, namely a pdf file entitled ?Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual? of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Following his guilty plea, Rudakubana was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 23 January]
Rudakubana was born in Cardiff four years after his Rwandan parents moved to the UK in 2002. He, along with his older brother, appear to have had a normal, happy pre-teen childhood in the northern Cardiff suburb of Thornhill. A shy boy, he nevertheless showed a passion for acting, and was signed toa talent agency at the age of 11, reports the Guardian.
Image Credit: Metro [Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing via videolink during a preparatory hearing at Liverpool Crown Court. Picture date: Wednesday December 18, 2024. PA Photo. Rudakubana is accused of three counts of murder, 10 attempted murders and possession of a knife after a stabbing attack on a Taylor Swift-themed children's holiday club class in Southport, Merseyside on July 29, 2024. See PA story COURTS Southport. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire]
![[FILE PHOTO: Southport murder suspect Axel Rudakubana appears via video link at the Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with production of the deadly poison ricin and a terrorism offence, in London, Britain, October 30, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. Courtesy of Julia Quenzler/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236643264-4bbd.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Axel Rudakubana]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_215278790-570d.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=492)
![[Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, from Banks in Lancashire has today (Monday 20 January 2025) pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to all 16 counts he was charged with. They were three charges of murder; 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife - all relating to the incident at Hart Street, Southport on 29 July 2024. He was additionally charged on 29 October with production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974; and possessing information, namely a pdf file entitled ?Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual? of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Following his guilty plea, Rudakubana was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 23 January]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_236669175-1829.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
![[Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing via videolink during a preparatory hearing at Liverpool Crown Court. Picture date: Wednesday December 18, 2024. PA Photo. Rudakubana is accused of three counts of murder, 10 attempted murders and possession of a knife after a stabbing attack on a Taylor Swift-themed children's holiday club class in Southport, Merseyside on July 29, 2024. See PA story COURTS Southport. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_233661591-3b68.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
