Arizona Tribune - 'Evil' UK child stabbing spree killer jailed for life

Sentencing Axel Rudakubana to 13 life terms for the three murders and 10 attempted murders, judge Julian Goose said he believed it "highly likely that he will never be released", ordering him to serve a minimum of 52 years.

The judge said that Rudakubana's objective during his 15-minute rampage had been the "mass murder of innocent, happy young girls".

If he had not been stopped, "he would have killed each and every child -- all 26 of them", he added.

Sobs and gasps were heard in court as prosecutor Deanna Heer recounted in detail the events at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last July in Southport, northwestern England.

She described how Rudakubana burst into the studio in the seaside resort where a group of young girls were sitting on the floor making bracelets, listening to Swift's blockbuster songs.

Rudakubana, then 17, was heard to say: "I'm glad they're dead," after he was arrested, Heer told the court.

After his arrest, police found violent content on Rudakubana's devices including images of dead bodies, victims of torture, beheadings, and cartoons depicting violence and rape.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the victims' families "we stand with you in your grief", adding that the attack had been "one of the most harrowing moments in our country's history".

- Screams -

On the day of the killings Rudakubana travelled to the dance class by taxi armed with a 20-centimetre-long (eight-inch) kitchen knife, Heer said.

"Within 30 seconds, screams can be heard coming from within, followed by children fleeing from the building," Heer said.

Rudakubana, now 18, on Monday pleaded guilty to killing the three girls who died in the attack -- Bebe King, aged six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. Bebe was stabbed 122 times, the judge revealed, while another of the dead girls had 85 stab wounds.

"Our dream girl has been taken away in such a horrible, undeserving way that it shattered our souls," Aguiar's parents said in a statement to the court.

Stancombe's mother branded her daughter's killer as "cruel and evil", saying his actions were those of "a coward".

Rudakubana was twice ordered out of court after repeatedly shouting that he was feeling unwell. He was not in court for the sentence, having refused to return.

- Living nightmare -

Heer said that on July 29, dance teacher Heidi Liddle was sitting with the class when she saw Rudakubana enter and begin "lunging through the children".

She started pushing them towards the exit, but after one of the girls ran towards the toilet she followed and locked the door.

"Outside, they could hear children screaming, and then the door rattled. When she heard voices outside the door crying for the defendant to stop she realised that not all of the children had managed to escape," Heer said, adding that some were stabbed in the back as they fled.

Some relatives in the public gallery were in tears. Others sat with their heads in their hands and wiped their eyes as tough security camera footage showed frightened, screaming children fleeing the scene.

In victim impact statements read to the court, one 14-year-old survivor said the day was a "living nightmare".

"The thing I remember most about you (Rudakubana) is your eyes. You didn't look human, you looked possessed," she said.

Class instructor Leanne Lucas, 36, who was also injured, spoke of her ongoing "trauma", saying she could no longer be alone at home, go to work or walk down the street.

"He targeted us because we were women and girls, vulnerable and easy prey," she said.

Rudakubana also pleaded guilty to possessing a blade, producing a biological toxin -- ricin -- and possessing an Al-Qaeda training manual.

- Riots -

The teenager's rampage triggered a wave of revulsion in the UK, and after his sentencing there were calls for it to be reviewed for being too lenient.

Viral misinformation that the perpetrator was a Muslim asylum seeker had sparked anti-immigration riots in more than a dozen English and Northern Irish towns and cities in July and August.

Rudakubana is a UK citizen, born in Cardiff to parents of Rwandan origin.

The attack has not been treated as a terror incident and he was never charged with terrorism offences.

A public inquiry is to be held into how the police, courts and welfare services all failed to spot the risk he posed.

A.Taylor--AT