Teen who killed 3 girls at Taylor Swift’s UK dance class is serving more than 50 years in prison

A young man who died he stabbed and killed three girls of a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England was sentenced Thursday to more than 50 years in prison for what a judge called “an extreme, shocking and serious crime.”

Judge Julian Goose said 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana “wanted to try and kill a bunch of innocent, happy girls.”

Goose said that he could not give a life sentence without parole, because Rudakubana was under 18 when he committed the crime.

But the judge said he must serve 52 years, minus six months in prison, before parole can be considered, and “he may never be released.”

Rudakubana was 17 years old there attacked the children in the seaside town of Southport in July, killed Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. He injured eight other girls, aged from 7 to 13 years old, as well as teachers Leanne Lucas and John. Hayes, a local businessman who intervened.

The attack shocked the country and sparked both street violence and soul-searching. The government has announced a public inquiry into how the program failed to stop the killer, who had been referred to authorities several times because of his penchant for violence.

Rudakubana faces three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and additional charges of possessing a knife, poisonous ricin and an al-Qaida manual. He unexpectedly changed his plea to all the charges against him on Monday.

But he was not in court to hear the sentence handed down on Thursday.

A few hours earlier he had been brought into the dock at Liverpool Crown Court in northwest England, wearing a gray prison tracksuit. But when the prosecutors began to present their evidence, Rudakubana interrupted, shouting that he was sick and wanted to see the emergency services.

Goose ordered the suspect to be taken out as he continued to shout. Someone in the court shouted “Coward!” as Rudakubana was removed.

The hearing continued without him.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer described how the attack happened on the first day of summer vacation when 26 young girls “were gathered around tables making bracelets and singing Taylor Swift songs.”

Rudakubana, armed with a large knife, entered and began stabbing the girls and their teacher.

The court was shown a video of the suspect arriving at Hart Space by taxi entering the building. Within seconds, there was a cry and children were running outside in fear, some injured. Another girl came to the door, but was pulled inside by the attacker. He was stabbed 32 times but survived.

Gasps and cries could be heard in the courtroom when the videos were played.

Heer said two of the children who died “suffered serious injuries that are difficult to describe as anything other than tragic in nature.” One of the dead girls had 122 injuries, and the other had 85 injuries.

The prosecutor said that Rudakubana “always likes violence, murder, killing people.”

“His intention was only to kill. And he targeted the young and the most vulnerable in society,” he said, while relatives of the victims watched in court.

Heer said that when he was taken to the police station, Rudakubana was heard saying: “It’s good that those children died, I’m very happy, I’m very happy.”

The killing sparked days of anti-immigrant violence across the country after far-right activists seized on false reports that the attacker was an asylum seeker who had recently arrived in the UK. Some suggested the crime was a jihadist attack, and police said the government was withholding information.

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff, Wales, to Christian parents from Rwanda, and investigators have been unable to pin down his motivation. Police found documents on topics including Nazi Germany, the Rwandan genocide and car bombs in his machine.

In the years leading up to the attack, he had been reported to several authorities about his violent interests and actions. All agencies failed to see the danger he was posing.

In 2019, she called a children’s helpline asking “What should I do if I want to kill someone?” He said he had taken the knife to school because he wanted to kill someone who was harassing him. Two months later, he attacked another student with a hockey stick and was convicted of assault.

Prosecutors say Rudakubana was sent three times to the government’s anti-extremism program, Prevent, aged 13 and 14 – once after researching a school shooting in a classroom, then posting pictures of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Instagram and researching the London terror attacks. .

But they concluded that his crime should not be considered terrorism because Rudakubana had no apparent political or religious cause. Heer said “his intention was to kill masses of people, not for a specific purpose, but for the purpose of extermination.”

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said this week that the country must face a “new threat” from violent individuals whose mix of motivations tests the traditional definition of terrorism.

“After one of the most tragic times in our country’s history, we owe it to these innocent girls and all those affected to bring about the change they deserve,” Starmer said after the sentencing.

Several relatives and survivors read emotional statements in court, describing how the attack had destroyed their lives.

Lucas, 36, who ran a dance class, said “the trauma of being a victim and a witness was terrible.”

“I can’t give myself sympathy or accept praise, since how can I live knowing that I survived when the children died?” he said.

The 14-year-old survivor, who cannot be named because of a court order, said during her recovery. “we will all have to live with the pain of the mind from that day to eternity.”

“I hope you spend the rest of your life knowing that we think you’re a coward,” she said.

The prosecutor read a statement from the parents of Alice Da Silva Aguiar, who said the killing of their daughter “broke our souls.”

“We were cooking for three, now we are cooking for just two, it doesn’t seem right anymore”, they said goodbye. “Alice was our purpose in life, now what?”