A parent of one of the Southport stabbing victims says child killer Axel Rudakubana ‘should rot in jail’ after he in sentenced today.
He urged the judge to show now mercy when he sentences Rudakubana, 18, after he pleaded guilty to killing three primary schoolgirls and attempting to murder 10 other people at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer.
The 18-year-old, who wore a facemask and refused to stand in the dock, changed his pleas from not guilty to guilty in a U-turn as his four-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court was about to start.
However, he cannot be given a whole life tariff as he was 13 days from his 18th birthday when he carried out the worst targeted attack on children in Britain since the Dunblane massacre in 1996.
The parent of one of the girls who needed surgery after the attack insisted that the rules need to be changed.
‘Axel should rot in jail,’ the who cannot be identified for legal reasons to protect his child, told the Sun.
‘He was only a few days off his 18th birthday when he committed these most horrendous offences. Why should he be spared a whole life tariff when he hasn’t spared a thought for any of the victims’ families? Life should mean life.
‘Even if he gets 40 years, it’s not enough. He could be out to enjoy the latter part of his life. The three little girls he murdered can’t do that. If that means the law needs changing, so be it.
‘He’s an adult and should be tried like one. His crimes are so horrific, an exception should be made by the judge.’
Rudakubana will face sentencing today (Thursday, January 23) at Liverpool Crown Court.
On Monday, he admitted murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, on July 29, 2024.
He also admitted the attempted murder of eight other children, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and the class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
The son of a refugee from Rwanda, who was born in the UK, also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife on the day of the attack, production of a biological toxin – ricin – on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.
The terrorism offence Rudakubana admitted relates to a PDF file entitled ‘Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual’, which he is said to have possessed between August 29, 2021 and July 30 last year.
But his shock guilty pleas denied the families of the children he murdered – and the others he tried to kill – the chance to be in the room at Liverpool Crown Court to hear him admit his guilt.
The parent of the Southport victime, who admitted his child is still struggling ‘mentally’, believes Rudakubana ‘only changed his plea in the hope of getting a reduction in his sentence’.
Guidelines suggest that Rudakubana’s pleas could reduce his sentence by a third.
The Mail has learnt that authorities knew of Rudakubana’s disturbing interest in a school massacre as far back as 2019.
He was referred to the Government’s de-radicalisation scheme Prevent that year on the basis that he had been researching for information about the killing of children in school shootings.
It was reported he was also referred twice in 2021 after viewing material about the 2017 London terror attack.
In addition he was monitored by the youth justice service after being expelled for taking a knife into Range High School in Formby aged 13 and then attacking pupils with a hockey stick.
While Rudakubana was not charged with carrying out a terrorist attack because police found no evidence that he was motivated by an ideology, the Prime Minister yesterday acknowledged that ‘terrorism has changed’.
Sir Keir said the law may need to be changed to represent the threat posed by ‘loners, misfits, young men in their bedroom’ obsessed with extreme violence.
The PM dismissed claims of a ‘cover-up’ at a press conference on Tuesdy as he insisted there will be a full inquiry into how the state failed to stop the killer going on the rampage.
He stressed that the probe should be ‘unburdened by cultural sensitivities’ and institutions will not be allowed to ‘deflect’ responsibility. ‘I’m angry about it… Nothing will be off the table in this inquiry,’ he said.
However, he flatly rejected allegations of a ‘cover-up’ of terrorist links in the immediate aftermath of the atrocity in July – which was followed by a wave of rioting across the country.
He confirmed he knew about the details ‘as they were emerging’ – rather than in October when extra charges were brought – but could not risk the case collapsing and the ‘vile’ perpetrator walking away free.
‘That is why the law of this country forbade me or anybody else from disclosing details sooner,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t be forgiven if I had.’
He added: ‘It was not my personal decision to withhold this information, any more than it was a journalist’s personal decision not to print or write about it.’
Sir Keir said he was under ‘no illusions’ that the lack of ‘trust’ will continue until the state is ‘honest’ about problems and ‘roots them out’.
But he insisted he had been inspired by the response of the Southport community, who rebuilt despite the tragedy being compounded by violence on the streets.