A teenager who brutally murdered three young girls in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class has been sentenced to a minimum of 52 years behind bars.
Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were tragically stabbed to death while eight other children and two adults – dance class leader Leanne Lucas and businessman Johnathan Hayes – were seriously wounded in the horrifying attack.
The tragic incident took place in Stockport in the United Kingdom on July 29, 2024, as the young children took part in a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
Axel Rudakabana, then aged 17, had entered the dance studio at around 11.45AM, wearing a face mask and carrying an 8-inch-long knife, and began stabbing children at random.
The organizers had tried to shield the children from the attacker, ushering as many as they could out of the fire exit or hiding them in a bathroom, while Hayes, who had been working in an office in the same building, ran in and tried to disarm the attacker, getting stabbed in the leg in the process.
Police officers responding to the scene found Rudakubana standing over one of the victims, still holding the knife, and he was arrested by two officers after cooperating when they told him to drop the weapon.
Rudakubana, now 18, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, after initially refusing to enter the courtroom, citing illness.
He had been removed from the courtroom after shouting: “I feel pain. I feel ill. Don’t continue.”
According to reports from the New York Post, he added while prosecution opening was underway: “I can’t remain quiet. I haven’t eaten for 10 days. I feel ill. I’m not going to remain quiet.”
Rudakubana’s defense team told the court that the teen “has not eaten for a number of days” and “has drunk very little over that period of time,” after he was ejected from the courtroom.
They added: “There was concern about his ability to be in a high-pressure situation.”
The judge told them that he was reassured that Rudakubana was fit to attend the sentencing hearing, and medics who were present in the court confirmed the same, while Rudakubana’s legal team requested a second opinion.
Rudakubana, who’d previously refused to speak in court, broke his silence to plead guilty to all 16 charges against him, replying: “Guilty.”
The 18-year-old also admitted to having an al Qaeda training manual at his home as well as the deadly poison ricin.
Judge Mr Justice Goose sentenced Rudakubana of three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, one of producing the biological toxin ricin and one of possession of an Al Qaeda training manual, an offence under the Terrorism Act, per the BBC.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Goose said: “He will serve almost the whole of his life in custody. I consider it likely he will never be released and he will be in custody for all of his life.”
