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Axel Rudakubana's older brother has told a public inquiry that he became "increasingly wary" of his sibling's "violent outbursts" years before he murdered three young girls in Southport. Giving evidence at Liverpool Town Hall, Dion Rudakubana , referred to during the inquiry as Dion R, explained how these outbursts would occur several times a week, becoming more frequent in 2019. The killer's parents, Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire, joined Dion, 21, as the final participants to give evidence to the ongoing inquiry into the July 2024 attack . This inquiry will seek to determine whether there were missed opportunities to prevent the attack, during which a 17-year-old Rudakubana killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar. He also attempted to murder 10 others at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the Merseyside town on July 29, 2024. Rudakubana, of Banks, Lancashire, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 52 years after admitting the offences on the first day of his trial in January. Dion told the town hall that he and his brother stopped speaking to each other in 2023, adding he seriously feared his brother would kill a family member "if things escalated". Senior counsel to the inquiry, Nicholas Moss KC, previously said that a "significant" theme of the proceedings would be the killer's relationship with his family, with a detailed analysis of his behaviour during the week before the attack and whether or not his parents knew of his online weapons orders. "It may be said to be apparent that AR’s parents were aware of…aspects of AR’s conduct that might have been expected to give rise to a concern," Mr Moss said during his opening speech. Dion, giving evidence from a remote location, was quizzed on his brother's violent nature growing up. Dion, who became a wheelchair user at 12, told the inquiry this resulted in him needing more attention and help from his parents. "There was tension that came about…up until that age, he got more attention than I did because he was younger than me, so there was a shift in focus around that time," Dion said. Asked if his brother resented this, Dion replied, "Yes, it was never explicitly stated by him as that, but it did coincide, yeah." The inquiry was also told how, in September 2019, Rudakubana's mood deteriorated. "I don’t necessarily just refer to violent outbursts. He was less happy. He was quite despondent," Dion recounted. "His frustration as a result of his low moods and outbursts, yes, it was concerning." It was during this time that the older brother had become "increasingly wary" of Rudakubana, with no particular topics seeming to cause the aggression and "frequent outbursts". Dion added: "If there was an outburst as a result of a dispute, he would become violent towards a person. But if it were a result of frustrations, it may not result in him hitting someone, but I would also use the word violent in the intensity of the situation." Mr Moss asked how often these outbursts would turn to violence, to which Dion said "probably a few times a week", noting that they became worse after Rudakubana's expulsion from school in 2019. Dion noted that his brother's behaviour "deteriorated quickly" and the sense of "family routine and togetherness which we once had started to fade when I lost the ability to walk, but after AR’s expulsion it broke down completely". There was a "general risk of violence" after the expulsion, Dion told the inquiry: "AR’s behaviour remained unpredictable and inconsistent. He continued to have outbursts and be violent, though I didn’t witness everything directly. I remember he became increasingly withdrawn, and I knew I had to be cautious if I did speak to him". He added that, by the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, "arguments escalated to physical violence" got worse. Rudakubana’s family have not attended the proceedings in person and have been granted permission by the inquiry chair, Sir Adrian Fulford, to give evidence via video link. Only Sir Adrian and counsel to both the inquiry and the core participants are able to see the family member giving evidence, with the monitoring screens displaying a blank picture for anyone else in the room. The inquiry has already heard from investigating and 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. The first phase of the inquiry, which is due to be completed by the end of the week, continues.
