Axel Rudakubana’s next court hearing after Southport stabbing adjourned

The 18-year-old is accused of murdering Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice Da Silva Aguiar during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class

Axel Rudakubana’s next court hearing in connection with the Southport stabbings, set for today, has been postponed. The 18-year-old, from Banks in West Lancashire, was due to face a plea hearing at Liverpool Crown Court this morning, Thursday 12 December.

He is accused of murdering six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe and nine-year-old Alice Da Silva Aguiar, who were killed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Hart Space in the city. on July 29 this year. Rudakubana is further accused of attempting to murder eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, and two adults, Leanne Lucas and John Hayes, who were also stabbed during the incident.

The teenager also faces a charge of possessing a bladed article in a public place, namely a kitchen knife with a curved blade, with a court date previously set for January 25 next year. He was charged with the additional offenses of manufacturing a biological toxin, namely ricin, and possessing information of a kind which could be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism, namely a PDF file entitled “Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual”, in October.

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Chief Constable Serena Kennedy of Merseyside Police told a press conference that the additional charges related to evidence obtained following a search of his home address on Old School Close. However, Counter Terrorism Policing has not declared the mass stabbing a terrorist incident.

Chief Constable Kennedy said of this: “The case for which Axel Rudakubana has been charged under the Terrorism Act does not require that the motive can be established. In order for a case to be declared a terrorist incident, the motivation must be established.”

Rudakubana has so far made four court appearances at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, Liverpool Crown Court and Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He has not spoken to confirm his identity during any of these hearings.

His case was originally listed to take place before Mr. Justice Goose from 10 today, when the defendant was due to appear via video link from Belmarsh Prison. However, the ECHO understands that the hearing will now take place on a date next week instead.