True Crime Friday: Axel Rudakubana, the Southport Serial Killer

Axel Rudakubana was born on August 7, 2006 in Wales, to Laetitia Muzayire and Alphonse Rudakubana. He targeted children at a Taylor Swift styled theme yoga and dance work shop for children. On July 29, 2024, he stabbed over ten people. Three of them died at the dance studio. The murders took place at Southport Merseyside, United Kingdom. Two girls died at the scene, six injured children and two adults were taken to hospital in critical condition, and a third girl died the following day.

The Early Childhood of Axel Rudakubana

Rudakubana is a British citizen and he has an older brother who also lives in Wales. His neighbors described Rudakubana as quiet and unassuming, he largely kept to himself. Axel was involved in dance and acting classes at a young age. At the age of eleven he was featured in a a BBC special called Children in Need. The special was a promotional video in which Axel was dressed a doctor. He began having behavioral outburst in 2019 while attending school. He was suffering from anxiety and social isolation in which he became known to the police. Apparently, Axel knew his behavior was not normal which he called a children’s hotline and asked “what should I do if I want to kill somebody? He wanted to kill a bully at school for torturing him. The call was reported to the police and he was later visited by them. Axel was expelled from school after it was discovered he had taken a knife to school on several occasions.

Rudakubana was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2021. Authorities became involved with Rudakubana in 2021, multiple times over the following year due to various behavioral incidents. One of the behavioral incidents involved Axel Rudakubana kicking his father. He also damaged his father’s car in 2022. His mother reported him missing before a bus driver called the police on him for failing to pay his fare.

Axel got into an argument with this parents when he was denied access to his computer. He was expelled from school and was enrolled at Presfield High School and Specialist College Virtual Program. When the staff came to visit they had to be escorted by the police because of his erratic behavior.

The Victims of Axel Rudakubana

• Bebe King
• Elsie Dot Stancombe
• Alice da Silva Aguiar

The Survivors of Axel Rudakubana

• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim
• Unknown Victim

Racism Rears Its Ugly Head

I will not defend murderers, that being said there is reason that rioters showed up at the jail after they found out that the murderer was a supposed immigrant. The rioters damaged a mosque even though the attacker was not a Muslim. There was not anything reported to the newspapers about the identity of the suspect but misinformation spread online. Because of this misinformation, mass anti immigration protest and riots spread nationwide. Innocent people were being threatened or attacked for a crime that no member of the community committed. This type of reaction is too commonplace and should be reigned in immediately when possible.

Serial Killers Are Amongst Us

There has not been any recent stories about serial killers in the media. Because serial killers are not a phenomena like they use to be many people think they have gone underground or no longer exist. As you all know this is not the case and there are at least 50 serial killers that are active across the United States if not more. They cannot get away with their killings like they did in the past because of DNA, CCTV and Home Cameras. Generally, serial killers are born out of unhealed traumas such as abuse, neglect, wars and social isolation. This case proves serial killers are alive and well but it is harder to get a high body count because of modern technology.

Lady Justice

After Rudakubana's guilty pleas, it emerged that he had a history of violent and concerning behavior and had been referred to the Home Office anti-extremism program. He had been reported three times to no avail in the years 2019 through 2021. Axel Rudakubana was arrested at the scene. He was charged with three counts of murder, ten counts of attempted murder and possession of a deadly weapon. He was also charged with terrorism. He pleaded guilty to sixteen charges on January 20, 2025, when his trial was due to begin, having initially entered a not-guilty plea. On January 23, 2025, Rudakubana was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of fifty two years. No motive was found so prosecutors theorized he wanted to take a life.

Reference

• Wikipedia - Southport Stabbings
• Axel Rudakubana: from ‘unassuming’ schoolboy to Southport killer
• Axel Rudakubana, who stabbed three children to death at Taylor Swift-themed dance class in England, jailed for 52 years