UK court hears horrific details of Southport girls' murders as killer removed from dock

By Sam Tobin and Michael Holden

LONDON (Reuters) -A British teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was obsessed with violence and genocide, prosecutors said on Thursday after the killer was removed from the dock for interrupting his sentencing.

On Monday, Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted carrying out the killings last July in the northern English town of Southport, an atrocity that was followed by days of nationwide rioting.

Two of his victims suffered "horrific injuries which ... are difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature", prosecutor Deanna Heer told Liverpool Crown Court.

The attack, which shocked Britain has prompted the government to announce a public inquiry as Rudakubana had been referred three times to a counter-radicalisation scheme, but no action was taken.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the attack could show that Britain faces a new type of terrorism threat waged by "loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms" committing extreme violence.

Rudakubana is set to face a lengthy jail term for murdering Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were among 26 children attending the summer vacation event.

"I'm glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy," Rudakubana told police after the attack, Heer said.

Rudakubana has also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder, as well as to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual.

The prosecutor also said the al Qaeda training manual contained advice on killing with a knife, but that Rudakubana was not inspired by any political or religious ideology.

"His only purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage," she said. Rudakubana was deemed to be mentally fit to face prosecution.

SCENE OF HORROR

Heer said two of the girls suffered at least 85 and 122 sharp force injuries, which Rudakubana inflicted with a 20cm-long knife he had bought online from Amazon (NASDAQ:).

She described a scene of horror, with the court shown video footage of screaming young girls fleeing the building. One bloodied girl was seen collapsing outside, provoking gasps and sobs from the public gallery.

Images and documents found on a computer at his home showed "he had a long-standing obsession with violence, killing and genocide", Heer said.

In 2019 Rudakubana had contacted a helpline for children, the prosecutor said, and asked: "What should I do if I want to kill somebody?"

Soon after, he was expelled from school after admitting taking a knife there 10 times and was later arrested with a knife in his backpack after returning to the school and attacking a pupil with a hockey stick, Heer said.

He was referred to the counter-radicalisation scheme Prevent after researching school shootings, uploading images of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Instagram and researching a terrorism attack in London.

Shortly after the start of his sentencing hearing, Rudakubana was removed from the dock after repeatedly shouting that he was unwell. Someone shouted "coward" as he left.