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Teen Who Killed Three Young Girls at Taylor Swift-Themed Dance Class Gets Sentenced to 52 Years in Prison
Axel Rudakubana, 18, was sentenced to 52 years for killing three girls and injuring ten others during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England in 2024.
Trigger Warning: This article contains gruesome details of violence, which could be triggering for some readers.
A teenager who stabbed three young girls to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England last year was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison on Thursday, January 23.
Judge Julian Goose said 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana wanted to “try and carry out mass murder of innocent, happy girls” as she announced his punishment, calling the crime “the most extreme and shocking.”
Goose stated that he couldn’t impose a sentence of life without parole as Rudakubana was underage when he committed the crime. However, the judge ruled that he must serve 52 years minus the six months he’s been in custody before being considered for parole. It is likely he will never be released.
Rudakubana was 17 when he attacked the children in the seaside town of Southport in July, killing Alice Da Silva Aguiar, 9, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Bebe King, 6. He wounded eight other girls, ranging in age from 7 to 13, along with teacher Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, a local businessman who intervened.
The attack shocked England and set off both street violence and soul searching. The government has announced a public inquiry into how the killer managed to beat the system after he had been referred to the authorities multiple times over his obsession with violence.
Rudakubana faced three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder, and additional charges of possessing a knife, an al-Qaida manual, and the poison ricin. He unexpectedly changed his plea to guilty on all charges on Monday.
Rudakubana wasn’t in court to hear his sentence. Hours earlier, he had been led into the dock in Liverpool Crown Court in the northwest of England. But as the prosecutors began outlining the evidence, Rudakubana interrupted by shouting he felt ill and wanted to see a paramedic.
Goose ordered the accused to be removed from the courtroom when he continued interrupting. A person in the courtroom shouted, “Coward,” as he was taken out.
A video was shown in court of Rudakubana arriving at the Hart Space venue in a taxi and entering the building, where young girls sat around a table making friendship bracelets and singing Swift’s songs. Within seconds, screams erupted, and children ran outside in panic.
Gasps and sobs could be heard in the court as the video played.
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