Man Pleads Guilty to Stabbing Attack Taylor Swift-Themed Event
Nearly six months after Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were killed during a Taylor Swift-themed children’s dance class in England, Axel Rudakubana pleaded guilty, according to Sky News, who was in the courtroom Jan. 20.
Rudakubana—who also stabbed eight other children and two adults at the dance studio July 29—pleaded guilty to all charges, including three counts of murder, 10 counts of attempted murder, one count of possession of a bladed article and two terror-related charges (producing the deadly poison ricin and the possession of an Al Qaeda training manual), the outlet reported.
The decision to change his plea from not guilty to guilty came just before the jury was set to be sworn in for his trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Since Rudakubana, now 18, refused to speak at his previous hearings, a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in December.
E! News has reached out to Rudakubana’s attorney for comment and has not heard back.
Following the Lancashire resident’s unexpected decision, Judge Julian Goose told him in the courtroom, per Sky, “You will understand it is inevitable the sentence to be imposed upon you will mean a life sentence.”
Rudakubana remained quiet and seated after his decision and during Goose’s response.
The attack occurred at a “Taylor Swift Yoga and Dance Workshop” put on by dance school Hart Space Studios in Southport, Merseyside Police Chief Constable Serena Kennedy shared during a July 29 press conference.
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“My officers were called to reports of a stabbing at 11:47 a.m. at an address in Southport,” she explained. “When they arrived, they were shocked to find that multiple people, many of whom were children, had been subjected to a ferocious attack and had suffered serious injuries.”
“It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender armed with a knife walked into the premises and started to attack the children inside,” Kennedy continued. “We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”
PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images
Following the deadly attack, Swift expressed her grief and condolences to the victims in an emotional social media post.
“The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” she wrote on her Instagram Stories the next day. “The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families, and first responders.”
“These were just little kids at a dance class,” she continued. “I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”
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