Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in July 2024
The inquiry into the horrific Southport murders which promised to “provide answers for the victims and their families” is set to publish its findings tomorrow.
Described as “one of the most egregious crimes in our country’s history”, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in July 2024.
Monster Axel Rudakubana, now 19, was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years in prison after pleading guilty to the murders in January last year. He also admitted 10 counts of attempted murder, producing ricin, and possessing an Al Qaeda training manual.
After the killings it emerged he had been referred to the government’s Prevent programme – which aims to stop people becoming radicalised – three times.
Inquiry chairman Sir Adrian Fulford will release phase one of his report into the stabbings at midday. It looks into the policing, the criminal justice system and the agencies involved with the killer’s care, education and mental health. Phase two will look into the wider issue of young people being drawn into extremism.
At least six public bodies are expected to be criticised in Sir Adrian’s findings, reports the Daily Mail.
When he opened the inquiry Sir Adrian said: “None of the most powerful adjectives even begin to suffice. There are no words that adequately describe what occurred and I am not going to try, and then fail, to find them.”
He asked the media not to use the police-issued mugshot of the killer taken after his arrest, which victims and their families said was a “terrifying and singularly distressing image”. The families have repeated this request this week.
Sir Adrian added: “This inquiry is expected to act as a real engine for change given the unparalleled nature of what occurred. I am determined it will not turn into an exercise of papering over the cracks.”
He vowed to make recommendations that would stop others “who may be drawn to treating their fellow human beings in such a cruel and inhuman way,” adding: “Although no solution will be foolproof, we can identify all of the robust steps which should be taken to protect ourselves, and particularly the most vulnerable, from horrors of this kind.
“And this must be undertaken at speed, to provide answers for the victims and their families and to identify all of the changes that urgently need to be made.”
Talking about the Prevent counter-terror programme, he said: “The state’s well established counter measures against ‘terrorism’ are vital. But does that machinery adequately address young people who are drawn into extreme violence without an accompanying commitment to a particular religious or political cause?
“Put shortly, should there be more effective mechanisms for identifying those who are contemplating serious offences, for monitoring their behaviour and for controlling their activities?”
The inquiry also heard harrowing evidence from the parents of the three girls, who fought back tears as they recalled their loss.
Jenni Stancombe, 35, said: “Elsie only went to dance and make bracelets but we never got to bring her home. I walk past an empty bed every night, I stare into her room praying this nightmare will end, but it never does. We live it every day.”
Alice’s parents found their daughter on the ground surrounded by medics. Alexandra, 34, and Sergio Aguiar, 38, faced a 13-hour wait in Southport hospital before doctors told them their only child was dead.
A statement read by their solicitor said: “I have never experienced fear like it, not knowing where my little girl was. I ran around looking into little injured girls’ faces searching for my baby girl. After what seemed like hours I found Alice. She was lying on the floor with people around her tending to her wounds. My happy, loving, innocent little girl – hurt by a monster.”
Bebe’s mum Lauren, 42, fell to her knees screaming after she was told on a street corner that her daughter was dead. “The impact of losing her can barely be described. On that day, being told over the phone by my husband that a man had gone into the dance class with a knife and that they couldn’t find Bebe? The hours walking around in the intense heat not knowing whether she was alive or not? praying to God that she was. Then being told in public, on a street corner, that my child was dead.
“I replay that day over and over, every single day. I picture him attacking my beautiful Bebe, imagine her fear, her pain. His eyes – his evil eyes – never leave my mind.”
