Axel Rudakubana, 18, Admits Guilt in the Murder of Three Girls at Taylor Swift Dance Class

Southport teen, Axel Rudakubana, today, Jan. 20, admitted murdr, possessing an Al Qaeda terror manual and making the biological weapon Ricin.

The teenager has pleaded guilty to killing three primary schoolgirls and attempting to murder 10 other people at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class last summer.

The 18-year-old, who wore a facemask and refused to stand in the dock, changed his pleas from not guilty to guilty in a U-turn as his four-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court was about to start.

He finally admitted murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, 9, Bebe King, 6, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7.

Rudakubana took their lives after he stormed a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at The Hart Space in Southport armed with a knife shortly before midday on July 29, 2024.   He also admitted the attempted murdr of eight other children, who can’t be named for legal reasons, and the class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Axel, the son of a refugee from Rwanda, who was born in the UK, also pleaded guilty to possession of a knife on the day of the attack, production of a biological toxin – ricin – on or before July 29, and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

The terrorism offence Rudakubana admitted relates to a PDF file entitled “Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants, The Al Qaeda Training Manual,” which he is said to have possessed between August 29, 2021 and July 30 last year. But his shock guilty pleas denied the families of the children he murdred – and the others he tried to k!ll – the chance to be in the room at Liverpool Crown Court to hear him admit his guilt.

Today’s hearing was expected to deal with legal matters before the start of a four to six-week trial opening in front of a jury tomorrow. But it lasted little more than 15 minutes when his barrister suddenly. He will be sentenced on Thursday, Jan. 23.