Merseyside Police video in memory of Elsie, Bebe ,and Alice

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victims

Axel Rudakubana was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 23 January 2025 to life imprisonment for:

  • The murder of three children

The judge, Mr Justice Goose, imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years before parole could be considered, for each of the three murders.

Rudakubana was also sentenced to life with a minimum term of 18 years for:

  • the attempted murder of eight other children

And life, with a minimum term of 16 years for:

  • the attempted murder of two adults

Additionally, the defendant was jailed for:

  • 12 years for producing the biological toxin Ricin (an offence under the Biological Weapons Act 1974)

  • 18 months for possession of a bladed article (a knife)

  • 18 months for possession of a PDF document entitled 'Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual' likely to be useful to a person preparing an act of terrorism (an offence under the Terrorism Act 2000)

The UK-born 18-year-old from Banks in West Lancashire was aged 17 at the time he committed the offences in Southport on 29 July 2024. He pleaded guilty to all charges on 20 January 2025 on what was due to be the first day of his trial.

You can read more about the sentencing guidelines for life sentences on the Sentencing Council for England and Wales here. 

Detectives from Merseyside Police worked closely with officers from Counter Terrorism Policing and lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service to successfully and thoroughly investigate Rudakubana’s heinous crimes and bring the case to court.

You can read more about what each agency did and the reaction following the sentencing hearing below:

Throughout the police investigation and the court case, the priority of everyone involved has been to secure justice for the children Rudakubana murdered, the children and adults he tried to kill, and the loved ones of these victims and survivors. Protecting the integrity of the criminal justice process was vital, which meant certain information could not be published until it was heard in evidence in court.

You can read more about this on the CPS website here and the Attorney General’s website here.

Our thoughts are now with Alice, Bebe and Elsie’s families, the survivors and the people of Southport. We have produced this video in memory of the girls and encourage anyone affected by the events that day or since to visit the Sefton Council Southport Together page.