England has finally named the 17-year-old who has been charged with the murders of three young girls in the seaside town of Southport last 29 June and the ensuing riots that have shaken the core of the country.
He’s been accused of murdering Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9), Bebe King (6), and Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), with a kitchen knife after entering the class on Hart Street in Southport, Merseyside. Eight other children sustained knife wounds – with five of them left in a critical condition – while two adults were also critically hurt.
On 1 August, when the teen was presented in the Liverpool court where he was charged with three counts of murder and 10 counts of attempted murder, the judge said the suspect could be named, despite being a minor, keeping in mind the "idiotic rioting" that took place in parts of the UK.
After the restrictions were lifted, the 17-year-old has been identified as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana.
Rudakubana, who spent the entire 55 minutes of the hearing covering his face, with his grey sweatshirt pulled up to his hairline, rocking back and forth and side to side at times, will next appear at Liverpool Crown Court on 25 October.
A provisional date for a trial, lasting six weeks, was scheduled for 20 January 2025.
The motive for his actions is yet unknown as the police haven’t revealed it thus far. However, the charges reveal the alleged murder weapon was a kitchen knife with a curved blade.
The 17-year-old was born in Cardiff, Wales. His parents are originally from Rwanda and they have been living in Southport for some time. In court, the prosecution said that Rudakubana had been "diagnosed with autism" and had been "unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time".
However, Rudakubana was discoered to have appeared in a BBC Children in Need video, where he dressed as Doctor Who in the 2018 fundraising clip. In the video, the then 11-year-old starred alongside four child actors dressed as other incarnations of the Doctor.