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Who is Axel Rudakubana? The child actor turned killer of three young girls

Axel Rudakubana, who pleaded guilty to killing three young girls in Southport, is a former child actor who grew up in a ‘normal’ family in Wales and Lancashire

Axel Rudakubana has pleaded guilty to killing three young girls at a Southport dance class and attempting to murder several more.

The then 17-year-old stabbed to death Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, at the Hart Space’s Taylor Swift-themed event on July 29 last year.

He also injured eight other children, who can not be named for legal reason, and two adults, Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes.

Rudakubana, now 18, had previously refused to enter a plea or even speak.

But on the the first day of his trial today at Liverpool Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.

The horrific killings shocked the country and also led to several riots, fueled by misinformation that Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker who had arrived on a small boat.

The teenager was in fact born in Wales to Rwandan parents, who are Christian.

Here we take a closer look at Rudakubana, who showed promise as a young actor but became a recluse obsessed with genocides in his teenage years.

FILE PHOTO: Southport murder suspect Axel Rudakubana appears via video link at the Westminster Magistrates' Court charged with production of the deadly poison ricin and a terrorism offence, in London, Britain, October 30, 2024, in this courtroom sketch. Courtesy of Julia Quenzler/Handout via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT/File Photo
A courtroom sketch showing Rudakubana appearance via video link at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London in October (Picture: via Reuters)

Child actor on BBC Children in Need

Rudakubana was born in Cardiff four years after his Rwandan parents moved to the UK in 2002.

He, along with his older brother, appear to have had a normal, happy pre-teen childhood in the northern Cardiff suburb of Thornhill.

A shy boy, he nevertheless showed a passion for acting, and was signed toa talent agency at the age of 11, reports the Guardian.

He even once played Doctor Who in a BBC Children in Need advert, clad in an oversized trench coat and spectacles.

In a clip that has now been deleted, Rudakubana is seen leaving the Tardis wearing spectacles, an oversized trench coat and a tie, before telling viewers way they can raise money.

A former neighbour, who lived near the family in Thornhill, told the Guardian that the boys’ mother was a stay-at-home mum at the time, while the father worked.

She said the family – who she described as ‘normal’ – generally kept themselves to themselves, but sometimes she’d chat to them over the fence.

Axel Rudakubana
Rudakubana as a boy

The woman recalled that the older brother seemed boisterous and mischievous, while Rudakubana appeared quieter and shyer, often clinging to his mum.

She added: ‘People have asked me was there signs of any violence? No there was not. Was there any sign of arguments? No there was not. Any sings of unhappiness? No there was not. My heart goes out to them.’

Obsession with genocides as teenager

By the time Rudakubana had started secondary school his father had got a job in Liverpool and the family relocated to Banks in Lancashire, near the Merseyside seaside town of Southport.

It was around this time he started showing behavioural issues at school and was diagnosed with autism.

Over the years he is said to have become increasingly reclusive and developed a fascination with genocides, in particular the mass ethnic killings in his parents’ home country of Rwanda, where an estimated 1 million people were slaughtered over little more than 100 days.

Most of those targeted were from the Tutsi ethnic group, which Rudakubana’s family belong to.

Axel Rudakubana, aged 18, from Banks in Lancashire has today (Monday 20 January 2025) pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to all 16 counts he was charged with. They were three charges of murder; 10 charges of attempted murder and one charge of possession of a knife - all relating to the incident at Hart Street, Southport on 29 July 2024. He was additionally charged on 29 October with production of a biological toxin, namely ricin, contrary to Section 1 of the Biological Weapons Act 1974; and possessing information, namely a pdf file entitled ?Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual? of a kind likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Following his guilty plea, Rudakubana was remanded in custody to appear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 23 January
Rudakubana refused to engage with psychiatrists after his arrest (Picture: Merseyside Police)

His father Alphons reportedly have fought with the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA), an armed force that battled the Hutu-dominated regime.

It’s believed he and his wife, however, fled to Uganda some time before the genocide.

Rudakubana is thought to have left Range High School in Formby in 2019 after taking a knife into school, and in a separate incident reportedly threatened staff and pupils with a hockey stick that had their names written on it.

He moved to specialist school in the borough of Sefton, where its understood teachers expressed concern about his behaviour, including violence, towards others.

He was reportedly referred to the counter-terror scheme Prevent three times from the age of 13, once in 2019 and twice in 2021. One referral came after he showed an interest in killing children in a school massacre.

But Prevent decided he had no terrorist motivations and posed no terrorist threat.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing via videolink during a preparatory hearing at Liverpool Crown Court. Picture date: Wednesday December 18, 2024. PA Photo. Rudakubana is accused of three counts of murder, 10 attempted murders and possession of a knife after a stabbing attack on a Taylor Swift-themed children's holiday club class in Southport, Merseyside on July 29, 2024. See PA story COURTS Southport. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
Courtroom sketch showing Rudakubana appearing via videolink during a preparatory hearing at Liverpool Crown Court inDecember (PictureL Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)

Questions are now being asked as to whether further intervention could have prevented the attacks, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying today the country would ‘rightly demand answers’.

Poison and al-Qaeda manual

Detectives searching Rudakubana’s bedroom after the murders found evidence that he had attempted to make the deadly poison ricin. They don’t, however, believe he had tried to use it on anyone or was planning to on July 29.

They also found a pdf document on his computer entitled: ‘Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The al-Qaeda Training Manual’.

As a result he was charged with producing a biological toxin and possession of a document likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.

Although the latter charge links to terrorism, Rudakubana has never given a motive for the attack and no other extremist material has been found.

Mental health concerns

One former school friend, who didn’t want to be named, told the Guardian he believes Rudakubana is mentally ill and a ‘ticking time bomb’.

They said: ‘People know he’s mentally ill. The system know he’s mentally ill. A normal person doesn’t bring a [hockey stick] into school. He’s not a well lad – we know that. If it was my guess, the system know that and he’s a ticking timebomb.’

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana, 18, appearing on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court, where he has pleaded guilty to murdering three young girls in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Rudakubana has also pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of eight other children and to the attempted murder of Leanne Lucas and Jonathan Hayes in Southport, Merseyside on July 29, 2024. Picture date: Monday January 20, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story COURTS Southport. Photo credit should read: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
Court sketch showing Rudakubana at Liverpool Crown Court today (Picture: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire)

At his first appearance at Liverpool Crown Court, Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said it was understood Rudakubana had been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time leading up to the attacks.

She said he was seen by the psychiatrists at the police station after his arrest but refused to engage with them.

However, the court was told at the time he had no obvious evidence of a mental health disorder that required diversion to hospital.

‘No signs of remorse’

At his court appearances, Rudakubana often held his sweatshirt over his face or wore a facemask and, until eventually pleading guilty, refused to speak.

Speaking outside the court after the guilty pleas, Ursula Doyle, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for Mersey-Cheshire, said it was clear that Rudakubana was a ‘young man with a sickening and sustained interest in death and violence’.

She added he had ‘shown no signs of remorse’.

Rudakubana, who also pleaded guilty to carrying a knife in a public place, will be sentenced Thursday.

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