The trial of a teenager accused of killing three girls in a series of stabbings last year that sparked the most violent riots in the United Kingdom in a decade will begin on Monday.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, will stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court, accused of murdering three girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last year in Southport, northwest England.
Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, died in the attack at the seaside resort near Liverpool on July 29, 2024.
Ten other people were injured, including eight children, in one of the country’s worst mass stabbings in years.
Rudakubana faces a total of 16 charges, including three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder and one count of possession of a knife days after the attack.
The trial is expected to last four weeks, after not guilty pleas were made on his behalf.
The stabbings sent shockwaves across the United Kingdom, sparking riots and riots in more than a dozen English and northern Irish towns and cities, including Southport and Liverpool.
Authorities blamed far-right agitators for fueling the violence, including by sharing misinformation claiming the alleged attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker.
In the riots, which lasted several days, far-right rioters attacked police, shops, hotels housing asylum seekers and mosques, and hundreds of participants were subsequently arrested and charged.
Rudakubana was born in Wales to parents of Rwandan origin and lived in Banks, a village northeast of Southport.
Despite being 17 years old at the time, restrictions on reporting Rudakubana’s name were lifted in August due to concerns about the spread of misinformation.
“Continuing to prevent complete information has the disadvantage of allowing others to spread misinformation, in a vacuum,” Judge Andrew Menary said in lifting the restrictions.
Tributes
Taylor Swift, then in the midst of the Eras tour, wrote on Instagram that she was “completely shocked” the day after the attack on the dance class at the start of the school holidays.
The pop star reportedly met two of the survivors of the attack during her August shows in London.
The United Kingdom’s head of state, King Charles III, also traveled to Southport in August to meet survivors and inspect a sea of floral tributes laid outside the city’s town hall.
And Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Prince William visited Southport in October “to show support for the local community,” Kensington Palace said. It was their first joint public engagement since Kate finished chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
In October, the suspect was charged with two additional offenses in relation to evidence obtained “during searches of Axel Rudakubana’s home” following the attack, said the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which is launching public proceedings.
The charges were for “production of a biological toxin, namely ricin,” and “possession of information… likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism.”
The terrorism offense was related to suspected possession of an Al-Qaeda training manual, although the attack was not treated as a terrorist incident.
Following speculation on social media related to police decisions in the case, Police Chief Serena Kennedy said she realized the additional charges could spark new rumors.
“We strongly advise caution against anyone speculating about motivation in this case,” Kennedy said.
He urged people to be patient and “not believe everything you read on social media.”
Rudakubana has appeared at several hearings since the attack, often wearing a gray sweatshirt and refusing to speak at all of them.
At the last hearing in December, he appeared by video link at Liverpool Crown Court from high-security Belmarsh prison, south-east London.
The Attorney General and Merseyside Police have warned the press and public not to publish any material that could prejudice the trial.
