Southport killer sentenced to 52 years in prison

Southport killer Axel Rudakubana has been sentenced to 52 years in jail for the murder of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport.

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, when Rudakubana launched his attack in July last year.

Sentencing him today, the judge confirmed the killer could not be jailed for life because he was 17 at the time of the attack, despite his "determination" to inflict "extreme violence".

He instead ordered Rudakubana to serve concurrent sentence, admitting the teenager "may never be released".

"It was such extreme violence... it is difficult to comprehend why it was done," presiding judge, Mr Justice Goose, admitted.

Despite the subsequent riots seen across the UK following the attacks, the judge insisted "he did not cause them," noting this was not factored into Rudakubana's sentence.

Rudakubana, 18, was ordered out of court mid-way through sentencing by the judge on Thursday after he began yelling for "a paramedic".

A shout of "coward" echoed from the public gallery where relatives were seated, with Rudakubana replying: "It's not my fault, I feel ill."

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