Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Da Silva Aguiar in the horrific Southport stabbings. The teenager from Banks, West Lancashire, was set to face trial at Liverpool Crown Court today, Monday.
He is accused of taking the lives of the three young girls, aged six, seven, and nine, who were fatally stabbed during a dance class themed around Taylor Swift.
This dreadful occurrence at Hart Space, which took place on 29 July, counts as one of the most shocking crimes in the history of Merseyside. Children, who had merely been enjoying their summer break, were either viciously slain, severely injured or left deeply scarred by the terrifying acts they witnessed.
Additionally, Rudakubana has been indicted on charges of attempting to murder a further eight minors, whose identities are protected, as well as two adults, Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, both of whom were wounded in the stabbing spree but survived.
The youth is also facing a charge pertaining to carrying a bladed weapon in public, specifically, a kitchen knife with a curved edge. Furthermore, he is accused of producing a biological toxin, identified as ricin, and for possessing information potentially useful to someone committing or planning an act of terrorism, notably a PDF file named "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual", discovered in October, reports the Liverpool Echo.
Sporting a grey prison-issue tracksuit and donning a blue medical face mask covering his mouth, Rudakubana offered no response when prompted to stand or identify himself in court, flanked by four dock officers and with an intermediary present. His defence barrister Stanley Reiz KC requested that the indictment be read again to the accused.
Remaining seated, Rudakubana then entered guilty pleas to all counts against him. He is slated for sentencing at the same court on Thursday this week.
Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, speaking at a press conference, discussed additional charges linked to evidence gathered from searches at his Old School Close residence following the horrific event. However, Counter Terrorism Policing have not classified the mass stabbing as an act of terrorism.
On this matter, Chief Constable Kennedy stated: "The matter of which Axel Rudakubana has been charged under the Terrorism Act does not require motive to be established. For a matter to be declared as a terrorist incident, motivation would need to be established."
