Southport killer accused of throwing boiling water mixed with sugar at prison officer

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana accused of throwing boiling water mixed with sugar at prison officer A 20‑year‑old inmate who is already serving life sentences for the July 2024 Taylor Swift concert attack in Southport appeared via video link from Broadmoor secure psychiatric hospital at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Monday. Axel Rudakubana, wearing a light‑grey and blue tracksuit top and resting his head on his left hand, faces a new charge of attempted grievous bodily harm after allegedly hurling a boiling mixture of water and sugar through the hatch of his cell door at HMP Belmarsh on 8 May last year. The prosecution said the prison officer who was targeted received prompt medical attention, which prevented any lasting injury. Rudakubana also faces two additional counts of assaulting prison officers, one count of possessing an offensive weapon, and a separate allegation that he threatened to douse a female officer with liquid unless she passed him a note on 6 May 2025, after which he allegedly threw an “unknown liquid” at her through the same hatch. On 28 October last year he is said to have punched a male officer in the face while the officer was checking whether Rudakubana had taken his medication. The offensive‑weapon charge relates to sharpened glass shards that prosecutors claim were pried from the floor of his cell and found stuck to the underside of a shelving unit inside the same accommodation. During the hearing Rudakubana claimed that prison staff had been poisoning his food. No indication of his intended plea was given. Rudakubana is currently serving a life sentence for the fatal attack on the Taylor Swift concert crowd in July 2024, in which he murdered nine‑year‑old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six‑year‑old Bebe King and seven‑year‑old Elsie Dot Stancombe. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of eight other children and two adults during that incident. After Monday’s appearance, the court remanded him into custody to stand trial at the Old Bailey on 19 October.