Wednesday, February 12, 2025

UK Teenager Sentenced to a Minimum of 52 Years For Southport Girls’ Murders

A teenager who killed three young girls at a Taylor Shift-themed dance class will be spending at least 52 years in jail.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, confessed to killing the girls and injuring 10 others last July, an atrocity that Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as ‘one of the most harrowing moments in British history’.

According to Prosecutor Deanna Heer, Rudakubana was ‘obsessed with genocide and violence’ and the injuries he inflicted on two of the victims were nothing short of being ‘sadistic in nature’. She later added that it looked as if he had tried to decapitate one of them.

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Rudakubana killed three girls in the attack (above) and injured 10 others

While Judge Julian Goose was unable to impose a full life sentence as he was 17 at the time of the attack, he will be serving a minimum of 52 years and will likely never be released.

During the court hearing on Thursday, video footage of the attack was shown, with many screaming girls running out of the building. One of the injured girls subsequently collapsed outside, provoking sobs and gasps from the public gallery.

Twice during the hearing, Rudakubana was removed from the dock after yelling he was unwell. He ultimately did not return to court to hear his sentence.

Leanne Lucas, the 36-year-old yoga teacher who organized the dance class, said ‘he targeted [them] because [they] were women and girls, making them easy prey.’ She was also stabbed five times in the attack.

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18-year-old Rudakubana is ‘obsessed’ with genocide, murder, and violence, according to Prosecutor Deanna Heer

7-year-old Elsie Stancombe, 6-year-old Bebe King, and 9-year-old Alice Aguiar were killed in the attack. In total, there wer 26 children attending the dance class.

After being arrested by police, Rudakubana said ‘[he] was glad those kids were dead and that it [made] him happy.’

Officials subsequently searched his home and found images and documents on his computer that showed a long obsession with genocide, killing, and violence.

The teen also admitted to owning an al Qaeda training manual and making ricin, a deadly poison that the teen would have likely used at a later attack.

The Attack Was Not Terrorism

Heer said the murders were not considered terrorism as the teen was not motivated by a particular religious or political ideology. However, they did find religion-mocking materials on his devices.

While Rudakubana has previously been diagnosed with autism, his lawyer Stan Reiz maintains that he did not have a mental disorder that could explain his actions.

teen murder
The British teen pleaded guilty to murder in the fatal stabbings that took place last July at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event

In 2019, he allegedly called a children’s helpline, asking ‘what [he] should do if [he] wants to kill somebody’.

Not long afterwards, he was expelled from school after bringing in a knife 10 times. He was subsequently arrested after returning and attacking a fellow student with a hockey sticker; the knife was still in his bag at the time.

Rudakubana had also researched school shootings and had been referred to Prevent, a counter-radicalisation scheme last year but no action was taken.

The British government has since ordered a public inquiry.

Brooke Carter
Brooke Carter
Freelance writer who loves dogs and anything related to Japanese culture.
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