Copyright dailyrecord
The parents of one of the girls murdered by Axel Rudakubana has told the Southport Inquiry that the killer's parents should be "held accountable" for their 'failings'. Jenni and David Stancombe, whose seven-year-old daughter Elsie was one of three girls murdered by Rudakubana while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance group attack last summer, believe the killer's parents "should be culpable". Rudakubana, then aged 17, murdered Elsie, six-year-old Bebe King and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar on July 29, 2024. He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 52 years after admitting the offences, as well as 10 other counts of attempted murder, in January. "Parents should be culpable when they knowingly allow such evil to exist unchecked under their own roof," Jenni and David told the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall. All three sets of bereaved parents gave statements following the completion of phase one of the Southport Inquiry. Rudakubana's parents, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, and older brother Dion, 21, were the last witnesses to give evidence. Alex and Sergio Aguiar, parents of Alice, told them: "Your failure to take responsibility, to act, and to intervene, when there were clear signs of danger, directly contributed to the devastating loss of our daughter’s life." Bebe's parents, Lauren and Ben King, said: "Time after time, they had opportunities to intervene, to stop this, to protect others. If they had acted with any real sense of duty, Bebe, Elsie and Alice would still be here. It is that simple." The Southport Inquiry has analysed potential missed opportunities to have stepped in and prevented Rudakubana from carrying out his attack. Responding police officers, Rudakubana’s taxi driver on the day of the attack, online knife sellers, counter terrorism officers, the government, mental health providers, his schools, and the social media company X have all been put under the microscope during proceedings. Rudakubana's parents both apologised for the attack, but Nicholas Bowen KC, representing the three families, told the father: "They have disdain for your excuses." The victims' parents' statements are below: "Listening to the many statements throughout the public inquiry has been incredibly difficult for us as a family. So many have shown, in painful detail, the missed opportunities and failings that led to Elsie not being here today. But when it comes to the statements from AR’s parents specifically, we feel this needs to be said. "Reading their statements has only added to the unbearable pain that David and I already live with every single day. We knew early on that their lack of parenting played a part in all of this, but these statements reveal a failure of parenting on a whole new level. "We believe they should be held to account for what they allowed to happen. They knew how dangerous he was, yet they stayed silent. They didn’t report their concerns, they didn’t act, and in doing so, they failed not only as parents but as members of our society. "Their statements show no real remorse or acceptance of the devastation their son caused. Instead, they try to distance themselves from the truth and deflect from the reality they ignored. They knew his behaviour was escalating. They saw the signs, the obsession, the growing desire to harm, especially in the months, weeks, and days before the attack. And still, they did nothing. "When he left their home that day, wearing the same clothes as the week before and carrying the weapon they knew he had, I believe they knew he was going to do something horrific. Yet they neither stopped him nor called the police. "His father, in particular, has downplayed his inaction and withheld the full truth of what he knew. I have no doubt his latest evidence is yet another attempt to protect himself and his family’s reputation rather than face what really happened. "Hearing them give evidence this week has been deeply distressing. As parents, they continue to deny, deflect, and protect themselves rather than face up to the truth. They claim not to recall key conversations and continue to shift blame onto others, rather than accepting their son’s responsibility, or their own as parents. His father admits things were out of control at home and that he was frightened of AR, yet still believed no further action or referrals were needed. "I find it impossible to believe that either of them do not remember or recognise the seriousness of the events leading up to the horrors of 29 July 2024. Their accounts are inconsistent, selective, and, in my view, untruthful. They continue to minimise and distort what went on in their home. Their refusal to be honest, to truly face what they allowed meant chances to stop what happened were lost. Even now, their lack of honesty and understanding shows how deeply they failed as parents and as members of our society. "David and I have always taught our girls right from wrong. That is our duty as parents, but it’s also our duty as part of society. His parents failed in that most basic duty: to their son, to us, and to the community. Their failure led to our daughter’s murder. "Now they are being protected, when in truth they should be held to account for their part in all this. Parents should be culpable when they knowingly allow such evil to exist unchecked under their own roof, when they know what their child is capable of and choose to do nothing. The values of our society depend on each of us taking responsibility. They chose not to, and because of that, we no longer have the chance to watch our kind, loving, beautiful little girl, who didn’t even know what bad was, grow up. Because of him, and because of them." "To the parents responsible and to the system that failed. We stand before you today as the grieving parents of our beloved daughter, Alice, whose life was taken from her through preventable actions and failures of responsibility. "From the day she was born, we devoted our lives to giving Alice the love, safety, and opportunities every child deserves. We created a home full of warmth, care, and guidance — one where she was encouraged to grow into the kind, compassionate, and joyful person she was. We trusted that when she stepped outside our care, she would be safe within a community built on those same values of responsibility and protection. That trust was betrayed. "You, as parents, had a duty - a fundamental and moral duty - to guide your child, to correct harmful behaviour, and to ensure that no harm would come to others because of it. That duty was not upheld. Your failure to take responsibility, to act, and to intervene when there were clear signs of danger, directly contributed to the devastating loss of our daughter’s life. "This tragedy was not inevitable. It was the result of neglect - neglect by those who should have known better, and by a system that repeatedly ignored warning signs. The institutions and authorities whose role it is to safeguard children failed in their most essential function. "The system failed Alice. You failed Alice. And because of those failures, we have lost everything. "The last words I said to our daughter were simple: 'Have fun and enjoy. See you later. Love you.' Those words haunt us every day, because what awaited us on our return was not joy, but the unbearable reality of our worst nightmare. "We cannot comprehend how such an outcome was allowed to unfold when there were opportunities to act — when intervention, care, and responsibility could have prevented this. It is unacceptable that the inaction of individuals and the shortcomings of the system have led to such irreversible pain. "We call upon lawmakers and authorities to recognise the urgent need for reform. Parents must be held accountable for the actions and behaviours of their children when they fail to take reasonable steps to prevent harm. The system must be strengthened to identify risks, act upon them, and protect the innocent before tragedy strikes. "Our daughter’s death must not be in vain. Let her memory serve as a call for accountability, change and justice. "We live with a wound that will never heal. But we will continue to speak, to seek truth, and to demand that no other family endure the same unbearable loss we have suffered. "Alice, Bebe and Elsie deserved better. Every child deserves better." "The last few weeks and months have passed in a blur. We’ve chosen not to sit and listen to every moment of evidence, because from the very beginning, it’s been painfully clear that Bebe was failed at every possible turn. We are now left trying to live in a world without her, when it is undeniable that this could have been stopped if just one person had acted properly. "This week, everything has come to a head as we’ve learned about the deeply disturbing and shameful evidence relating to the actions of his parents. We are parents too, and we take that role incredibly seriously. As parents, we believe we have a responsibility not just to our own children, but to society - to raise them with love, to nurture kindness, and to help them grow into responsible, compassionate adults. "Where was that responsibility from his parents? They were absent. They turned away from their duties. And that was not a one-off mistake; it was a pattern, repeated over days, weeks, months, and years. Time after time, they had opportunities to intervene, to stop this, to protect others. If they had acted with any real sense of duty, Bebe, Elsie and Alice would still be here. It is that simple. "What we’re struggling to comprehend is not just their failure then, but their failure now - to acknowledge, to take responsibility, to face up to what they allowed to happen. "The excuses, the contradictions, the lack of truth - it is hard to find words, especially when we reflect on the parents we were to Bebe, and the child she was. We’ve been robbed of seeing her grow up into the beautiful, kind, joyful, selfless girl she was already becoming. A little girl who would have given the world so much. "But this isn’t just about the actions of one family. This is about the repeated failings of agencies and professionals who should have known better - who did know better - and still did nothing. One of the most devastating aspects is that these failings happened not because there was no warning, but because every concern, every incident, was treated as isolated and not significant. Piece by piece, the bigger picture was ignored. There were countless chances to intervene, but instead, those in power looked the other way. These were not unavoidable errors. These were systemic failures, and every agency involved must now be held accountable. "We want to thank our incredible legal team, whose unwavering support has carried us through this process. They have worked tirelessly on our behalf, carefully scrutinising every piece of evidence, ensuring the right questions were asked, and pushing for the truth to be fully revealed. We are also grateful to the Inquiry team for handling this process with such diligence and sensitivity. "Her name was Bebe, she was just six years old, and she deserved to live."
