Trigger warning: Some readers may find the details of this report disturbing. Discretion is advised.

Advertisment

Axel Rudakubana, who brutally killed three young girls in a shocking knife attack last July on Thursday (Jan 23) was sentenced to life in prison. The five-decades-long sentence is set to be reviewed amid complaints that it was "unduly lenient". Here's why.

Rudakubana sentence

The British teenager will have to serve a minimum of 52 years in jail before being eligible for parole. The 18-year-old, who was 17 when he committed the horrific crimes, has received 13 life terms for three murders and 10 attempted murders.

Advertisment

Also read | Teenager Axel Rudakubana sentenced to life for stabbing spree at Taylor-Swift-themed dance party in UK's Southport

On July 29, 2024, armed with a 20-centimetre-long (eight-inch) kitchen knife, Rudakubana burst into the Hart Space community centre where 26 young girls were sitting on the floor, making bracelets and listening to American pop star Taylor Swift's music. 

Within seconds, he started attacking the girls, and in a 15-minute rampage, he killed six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. In the attack, six-year-old Bebe suffered 122 stab wounds, while another victim was stabbed 85 times, revealed Judge Julian Goose during the trial. 

Advertisment

Why is the 52-year sentence under review?

Given the ghastly extent of his attack, families of the victims backed by Southport's MP Patrick Hurley have appealed for a review of the murderer's sentence.

Also read | Teen behind UK's Southport stabbing case pleads guilty

Hurley, a Labour MP, said he has made a request to the Attorney General's office for an urgent review of the sentence.

"In my view, the sentence passed is unduly lenient. The crimes he committed were horrific and natural justice demands he spends the rest of his life behind bars," he said, as cited by Sky News.

"I have therefore made a request to the attorney general to have the sentence reviewed urgently, with a view to making sure he is never released. My community deserves nothing less."

The Attorney General's office as per the report has confirmed that the case has been referred to them under the unduly lenient sentence (ULS) scheme. Under this, just one request for punishments handed out in court is enough for the sentence to be reconsidered.

Attorney General Lord Hermer and Solicitor General Lucy Rigby now have 28 days to decide whether to refer the sentence to the Court of Appeal for further consideration.

Also read | UK PM Starmer orders inquiry into govt 'failure of duty' that led to deadly knife attack at Taylor Swift-themed party

Why did Axel Rudakubana kill the young girls?

While the murderer Axel Rudakubana is yet to specify the reason behind his senseless attack, reports suggest that the teenager had violent tendencies and a fixation with mass killings.

At the ages of 13 and 14, Axel Rudakubana was flagged to the UK government's anti-radicalisation programme, known as Prevent three times. He was reported for the first time in 2019, over four years before the attack.  

One of these referrals came after he raised eyebrows with his interest in the killing of children in a school massacre, as per a report in The Guardian.

Rudakubana was known for his violent tendencies and fixation on mass killings, it reported.

However, despite this, and extensive contact with law enforcement, social services, and mental health agencies, the violent teenager's escalating danger was not sufficiently addressed.

Reportedly, a week before the attack, on July 22, Axel's father, Alphonse Rudakubana, even prevented him from travelling to a school he had been expelled from, reported The Guardian citing neighbours who saw the father remonstrating him outside their home. He was expelled from school in 2019 for bringing a knife to school. 

(With inputs from agencies)