TL;DR
- Axel Rudakubana’s father described his son’s escalating behaviour and lack of remorse, highlighting difficulties with discipline both at home and school.
- Rudakubana is serving life for the murders of three children and the attempted murders of numerous others, displaying violent tendencies and terror obsession.
- Victim families expressed profound grief, with statements reflecting their losses and the impact of the attacks on their lives.
Southport inquiry latest: Killer’s dad ‘desperately sorry’ – and accepts ‘share of responsibility’ | UK News
We’ve just been hearing from Axel Rudakubana’s father at the inquiry.
He shared his experiences of the killer’s behaviour at home and how he was treated at school. Any attempt at discipline, he said, was met with “escalation”.
We saw some of that unruly behaviour during his sentencing earlier this year, when at Liverpool Crown Court he tried to disrupt proceedings more than once and showed no remorse.
Rudakubana was not present for his sentencing after twice being ordered out of the dock for repeatedly shouting “I feel ill”, despite paramedics concluding he was fit to stand.
Prosecutors told the court that, while in custody, Rudakubana said: “It’s a good thing those children are dead, I’m so glad, I’m so happy.”
Rudakubana pleaded guilty to the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Da Silva Aguiar, as well as the attempted murders of eight children and two adults. The 18-year-old also pleaded guilty to charges of producing ricin, possessing a bladed article and possession of information useful for the purposes of terrorism.
An analysis of his devices revealed an obsession with violence, war and genocide, with documents discovered including an academic study of an Al Qaeda training manual.
Police believe he used techniques he learned from the PDF file, which contained instructions on how to commit knife and ricin attacks, to carry out the mass stabbing.
‘Coward took our daughter’
Elsie’s mother told the court Rudakubana was a coward and “beyond contempt”.
“He took our daughter. There’s no greater loss and no greater pain. He has left us with a lifetime of grief.”
Alice’s family – who had been planning to surprise her with a trip to Disneyland – said she was “strong and confident” with “unlimited potential”. They said her death had “shattered our souls”.
Dance teacher Leanne Lucas, who was stabbed in the back, said she couldn’t give herself “compassion or accept praise, as how can I live knowing I survived when children died?”