LONDON (Reuters) – A British teenager will go on trial on Monday, accused of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in the northern English town of Southport last July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, is charged with killing Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance event for children in the quiet seaside town.
Rudakubana is also accused of 10 attempted murders, producing the deadly poison ricin and possession of an al Qaeda training manual.
His trial, which is due to last between four and six weeks at Liverpool Crown Court, will only hear the prosecution evidence and its witnesses after Rudakubana’s lawyer Stan Reiz confirmed no positive case would be advanced on his behalf.
British-born Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the incident, did not speak when asked how he pleaded at a hearing in December, so not guilty pleas were entered by the judge, Julian Goose, on his behalf.
Police have said the incident was not being treated as terrorist-related. Large disturbances had broken out in Southport after false reports spread on social media that the suspected killer was a radical Islamist migrant.
Those disturbances spread across Britain with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer blaming the riots on “far-right thuggery,” leading to more than 1,500 arrests.
The Attorney General’s office and the local police force have warned the media and the public not to publish or post anything on social media that might prejudice the trial, saying anyone who breached this could face prosecution.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
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