Southport stabbings: Axel Rudakubana changes pleas to guilty on first day of trial
ITV News correspondents Anna Youssef and Rob Smith report.
The 18-year-old accused of killing three girls at a dance class in Southport has admitted the attack on the first day of his trial.
Axel Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday charged with 16 offences, including three counts of murder.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, died following the attack at the Taylor Swift-themed class in The Hart Space on a small business park in the seaside town shortly before midday on July 29.
The defendant, who was 17 at the time of the attack, admitted their murders as well as the attempted murder of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana will be sentenced on Thursday.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife.
Mr Justice Goose said: “I am conscious of the fact the families are not here today.”
Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, confirmed the families had not attended as it was assumed the trial would open on Tuesday.
Mr Justice Goose said he extended his apologies to the families that “for that reason they weren’t here to hear him enter his pleas”.
Ms Heer said she would speak to them before the sentence on Thursday.
Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff, also admitted 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 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 2024.
The ricin, a deadly poison, and the document were found during searches of the home on Old School Close which he shared with his parents, who are originally from Rwanda.
The attack in Southport has not been declared a terrorist incident despite the discovery of the document, Merseyside Police said last year.
Speaking outside court, Ursula Doyle, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor with CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said it was an "an unspeakable attack".
"One which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness", she said.
"At the start of the school holidays, a day which should have been one of carefree innocence; of children enjoying a dance workshop and making friendship bracelets, became a scene of the darkest horror as Axel Rudakubana carried out his meticulously planned rampage.
"It is clear that this was a young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence. He has shown no sign of remorse.
"Today, our thoughts are with all those whose lives were altered by what happened on that day.
"Most of all, we think of Elsie, Bebe, and Alice – the three beautiful young girls whose lives were cut short – and wish strength and courage to the families who loved and cherished them."
A father of a pupil who attended Range High School with Axel Rudakubana described how his daughter had seen the killer chasing another pupil with a hockey stick.
It was was shortly following this incident that he was permanently excluded from the school, where parents have told us that he was also badly bullied,.
ITV News also understands that it was widely rumoured that Rudakubana had a 'kill list' of pupils he wanted to murder.
Rudakubana was excluded from Range High School in Formby in around 2019 after telling Childline that he was being racially bullied and was bringing a knife into school to protect himself, it is understood.
It is not known if he was being bullied or if he ever brought a weapon into the school while he was a pupil.
After his exclusion, he returned to the school and assaulted someone with a hockey stick, the intended target being a former bully or someone he had a grievance with, it is understood.
It is understood Rudakubana then attended two specialists schools, The Acorns School in Lancashire and Presfield High School & Specialist College in Southport, and teachers were concerned about his behaviour.
His in-person attendance at Presfield was less than 1%, it is understood.
Sir Keir Starmer said the conviction of the “vile and sick Southport killer” Axel Rudakubana was welcome but a “moment of trauma for the nation”.
In a statement on Monday, the Prime Minister said: “Our thoughts are with the families of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, and the families of everyone affected, who will be saved the ordeal of a protracted trial.
“The news that the vile and sick Southport killer will be convicted is welcome.
“It is also a moment of trauma for the nation, and there are grave questions to answer as to how the state failed in its ultimate duty to protect these young girls.
“Britain will rightly demand answers, and we will leave no stone unturned in that pursuit.
“At the centre of this horrific event, there is still a family and community grief that is raw, a pain that not even justice can ever truly heal. Although no words today can ever truly convey the depths of that pain, I want the families to know that our thoughts are with them and everyone in Southport affected by this barbaric crime.
“The whole nation grieves with them.”
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