The 18-year-old accused of killing three girls in a “meticulously planned rampage” at a dance class in Southport has pleaded guilty to 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 murders of eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
Prosecutors described the defendant as a “young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence”, saying the attack left an “enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness”.
Summer riots which saw violence across the country were sparked by the stabbings carried out by Rudakubana.
Within hours of his attack, posts spread on the internet which claimed the suspect was a 17-year-old asylum seeker, who had come to the country by boat last year.
Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana will be sentenced on Thursday.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife.
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 in Old School Close which he shared with his parents, who are originally from Rwanda.
The court heard that relatives of Rudakubana’s victims were not present to see him enter his guilty pleas.
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 because it was assumed the trial would open on Tuesday.
Mr Justice Goose said he extended his apologies to them that “for that reason they weren’t here to hear him enter his pleas”.
The attack in Southport has not been declared a terrorist incident despite the discovery of the document, Merseyside Police said last year.
Rudakubana was arrested on the day of the attack and charged with murder, attempted murder and possession of a knife later that week.
He was charged with production of ricin and the terror offence three months later, although the items were found in searches carried out by police in the days after his arrest.
Unrest erupted across the country in the wake of the Southport attack, with mosques and hotels used for asylum seekers among the locations targeted.
In the hours after the stabbing, information spread online which claimed the suspect was an asylum seeker who had arrived in the UK on a small boat.
The day after the attack, thousands turned out for a peaceful vigil in Southport, but later a separate protest outside a mosque in the town became violent, with missiles thrown at police and vans set on fire.
More than 1,000 arrests linked to disorder across the country have since been made and hundreds charged and jailed.
During the hearing on Monday, Stan Reiz, defending, told the judge: “I am instructed for the indictment to be put again.”
Rudakubana remained seated in the dock as he entered guilty pleas.
The defendant, who had an intermediary with him in the dock, wore a grey tracksuit and a surgical mask.
He did not stand when asked to by the court clerk and judge after entering court and did not reply when he was asked to confirm his name.
The clerk then began reading each of the 16 counts of the indictment, with the defendant replying with the single word “Guilty” each time and the clerk repeating back “You wish to change your plea to guilty”.
Rudakubana moved to Banks from Cardiff with his parents and older brother about a decade ago.
The family lived in a mid-terrace three-bedroom house in a newly built cul-de-sac of a dozen or so properties.
A local source said the killer did not mix with others, that the family was unremarkable and there had been no sign of anything wrong.
“Nobody knows them. It’s only the father who went to work who I’ve ever seen,” a neighbour said.
In 2018, Rudakubana appeared in a Doctor Who-themed advert for BBC Children In Need.
The now-deleted clip shows him leaving the Tardis wearing a trench coat and tie to look like the show’s former star David Tennant.
Appearing in court in August after he was first charged, Rudakubana initially smiled upon entering the courtroom, then kept his face covered by his sweatshirt for the remainder of the proceedings.
He has not previously spoken in court and not guilty pleas were entered on his behalf after he failed to respond when charges were put to him.
Speaking outside court after the hearing, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle said: “This was an unspeakable attack – one which left an enduring mark on our community and the nation for its savagery and senselessness.
“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.”
