UK teenager pleads guilty to killing young girls in knife attack | Crime news

The crime horrified the nation and was followed by days of national rioting against migrants in August.

A British teenager has pleaded guilty to charges of murdering three young girls in knife attack in the north of the United Kingdom in July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of national rioting.

Axel Rudakubana, 18, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty on the first day of his trial at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday.

He pleaded guilty to murdering Baby King, 6; Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7; and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport on July 29, 2024.

Ten others were injured, including eight children, in one of the country's worst mass knife attacks in years.

Rudakubana also pleaded guilty 10 charges for attempted murder in connection with the attack, as well as manufacturing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al Qaeda training manual.

Judge Julian Goos said he would sentence Rudakubana on Thursday and that a life sentence was imminent.

Dressed in a gray tracksuit and surgical mask, the teenager refused to stand trial and did not speak except for the word “guilty”.

in december innocent was entered on Rudakubana's behalf when he refused to speak in court, and the case was set for a four-week trial.

Rudakubana was born in Wales to parents of Rwandan descent. He lived in Banks, a village north-east of Southport.

In the wake of the killings in Southport, riots erupted after false reports spread on social media that the suspected killer was a Muslim migrant.

These riots have spread across the UK with attacks on mosques and hotels housing asylum seekers, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer blaming far-right crime for the unrest. Over 1,500 people were arrested.

UK Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday that the coming days “will be a deeply traumatic and exhausting time for the girls' families”. But she said it was important the trial was allowed to continue so “justice can be served”.