Copyright mirror
On the face of it, the Rudakubanas were a loving, church-going family, but following the Southport killings, a much darker picture has emerged. Their world imploded on shortly before midday, on July 29, 2024, when Axel Rudakubana walked into a Taylor Swift –themed yoga and dance workshop starting stabbing children. Tragically, Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, lost their lives in the frenzied attack, carried out just as parents were preparing to pick up their little ones from the class. Back in January, the teenage killer, who pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder, was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years, meaning he will likely die behind bars. The inquiry continues into the atrocity , with questions raised about the home life of the 'quiet' boy who grew up to become a mass killer. And this week, his elder brother, Dion Rudakubana, and father, Alphonse Rudakubana, have spoken out. Questions still remain, with the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall hearing, that a "significant" theme of the proceedings will be Rudakubana's relations with his family. His behaviour in the week leading up to the attack will be of particular importance, as will their knowledge of the weapon-obsessed teen's online purchases. His brother and father have both painted a chilling picture of the killer's spiral, charting his descent from a budding star to a 'sociopath'. Rudakubana's taxi driver father, Alphonse Rudakubana, and his stay-at-home mother moved to the UK from Rwanda to in 2002. The killer was born in Cardiff and moved to the Lancashire village of Banks, near Southport, with his parents and older brother. The devoutly Christian parents were deeply involved with the local church, and have been described as “ordinary” and “struggling to make a go of things here”. Neighbours in a quiet cul-de-sac in Banks, Lancashire, where the family had lived for several years, previously recalled how Rudakubana could sometimes be heard singing in the family home, and even appeared in a musical in the Shaftesbury Theatre in the West End as part of a school drama group. A nearby resident who preferred not to be named shared, "It's a massive shock. He would come in from school and be singing. He never went out, we never saw them. We never spoke to them more than to say hello in seven years." Meanwhile, a neighbour revealed: “All the time I have lived here, I have never spoken to the lad. I’ve never seen him out on his own. I think I’ve probably only ever seen him on two or three occasions. They just seemed like a normal family. They were very quiet. Dad would say ‘hello and how are you?’ that sort of thing." However, there were neighbours who were unnerved by "weird" Rudakubana's intense "stare". Caroline, who lived next door to the Rudakubanas before she moved away from the area, told the Liverpool Echo how she'd regarded the now-19-year-old as a “normal, moody teenager”. She explained, “To us, it was just a family living next door who kept themselves to themselves. I thought the teenage son was a bit weird , like he just stared at you and didn't really say anything at all. “I just put that down to him being a teenager, but he did used to stare. He'd stare at me like he was staring right through me. The family themselves seemed normal, the mum used to always forget to put the handbrake on, and I would knock on and say ‘your car’s rolled down again, you need to move it’, and she would say ‘no, no, I’ll get my husband to do it’." It's been claimed that Rudakubana's parents appeared reluctant to allow friends around their children, with his father making "vague" allusions to "challenges" within the household. A friend who met Alphonse for coffee in June 2023, after being denied a visit to the family home, told the Times: "When I asked if they ever visited Rwanda, he hesitated. Brushing off the question with a wave of his hand and saying, ‘We’ll think about it when there are fewer challenges with the kids'." Indeed, behind their front door, the Rudakubanas were dealing with significant challenges with their youngest son. During Rudakubana's trial, Mark Winstanley, Assistant Chief Constable with Lancashire Police, told the court how officers had received four calls from the family home, one of which was to report the teenager missing. In May 2022, Rudakubana's father contacted officers when his son's behaviour escalated after he was denied computer access. In March of that same year, Rudakubana's mother reported him missing from home. He was later located on a bus after the driver called to report that he hadn't paid the fare. Rudakubana admitted to having a knife and was taken home by officers, but they did not press charges. In November 2021, police were called after Rudakubana kicked his dad and damaged his car. His father didn't want to press charges. That same month, officers were called after Rudakubana became distressed after a stranger knocked on their door. His parents called back and clarified that the police weren't needed. In each of these instances, referrals were made to the Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH). An initial assessment of Rudakubana, conducted by Children's Social Care, determined that social work support was not required. Instead, "early help" - the first stage of intervention - was recommended. Contact was made with Rudakubana and his family, who were offered guidance concerning the teenager's "emotional wellbeing and behaviours". Although he was under the care of Alder Hey Children's Hospital Trust's mental health services between the years 2019 and 2023, Rudakubana had "stopped engaging" by February 2023, "despite continued offers of support". As the inquiry continues, it's expected that questions will be raised regarding Rudakubana's access to weapons, some of which were hidden from him by his parents. This inquiry has already heard how his father, Alphonse, begged a taxi driver not to take his son to his former school. A witness said, "There was a confrontation, and Rudakubana was persuaded to leave the vehicle." There is no suggestion that Rudakubana's father knew his son was carrying a knife or what his potential plans were. However, it's believed the timing of the taxi ride could have been significant. Prosecutor Deanna Heer previously told the trial: "On this occasion, however, it seems that he was spotted by his father. As the car was about to set off, the defendant's father ran out of the house and pleaded with the driver not to take him. There was an argument, but eventually, the defendant got out of the car and returned to the house. "It is unlikely to be a coincidence that this was the last day of term, with students due to leave the school premises at 12.30 pm for the summer. The court may infer that this was an earlier attempt to commit offences similar to those he was to carry out at The Hart Space a week later." Reading a statement on behalf of the Stancombes, Nicholas Bowen KC, who is representing the three grieving families, said: "When a parent knows their child is dangerous, allows them to possess weapons and authorities have already visited the home, how is that not neglect?" "If a child were malnourished or unwashed, social services would act immediately. But when a child is surrounded by weapons, involved in violent behaviour and known to be a threat, the system does nothing. That is a failure. No action was taken. Why? Our daughter paid the price for that failure. When does a parent become complicit in a crime committed by their child?" Axel's father appeared at the hearing on Wednesday and said his son's behaviour deteriorated over a very short period between Year 8 and the start of Year 9. He added that his son would "get angry" when he was disagreed with, and that there was "always a trigger" for his son's rage. Mr Rudakubana confirmed that by January 2021, he believed his son "actively hated me." Asked how frequent the outbursts were, he said: "It was random... it depends on who is talking to him and what you say. For example if they are talking about subjects and they don't agree and they both have strong opinions, he would get angry and have the outburst. It could be twice a day." He said Axel would bring up "things from the past" and accuse his father of hitting him. Dion Rudakubana, who was born in Cardiff two years before the killer, is understood to be "wholly unlike" his brother. A wheelchair user who'd been studying at university at the time of the horror attack, the Liverpool Echo has previously reported that Dion had been part of the university's brass band society. His solicitor told the inquiry that "Dion was wholly unlike his brother - a thoughtful young man, of good character, studying at university". The statement read out on his behalf continued: "As Dion explained in his police statement, he returned home from university the weekend before the attacks, and in that statement, he sets out as best he could his knowledge of what AR was like that weekend and indeed what AR was like in the years preceding the incident. "By virtue of his studies and his disability, Dion had limited interaction with his brother, but Dion is aware that, in addition to police involvement with AR, agencies such as social services and CAMHS were also involved with his brother." Breaking his silence back in September, Dion spoke out publicly about his brother's terrible crimes for the first time, expressing the view that the mass killer grew "increasingly withdrawn" after he was excluded from school for assaulting a fellow pupil. Dion also acknowledged that his brother had caused the "most immense pain, anguish and grief to the lives of so many people". In a statement submitted to the Inquiry through his barrister, Dion Rudakubana called for the proceedings to examine "whether more could have been done" by public sector agencies to prevent the mass stabbing. Jacqueline Carey KC, who presents Mr Rudakubana's interests at the inquiry, stated: "Dion wholeheartedly supports the inquiry's aim to identify lessons which will minimise the prospect of such harm being caused in the future." While giving evidence to the Southport Inquiry, Dion revealed he feared his brother would kill a family member. While addressing Liverpool Town Hall remotely from an undisclosed location, Dion was asked by Richard Boyle, a member of counsel to the inquiry, about messages he sent to a friend while visiting home from university in 2022. Dion said that if Axel became violent, "too much damage would be caused by my dad trying to restrain him", adding there was a risk of "him doing something potentially fatal". Dion wrote in one message: "The fights are scary because of the danger of someone dying." He also told the inquiry that by 2022, he believed his brother may have previously tried to stab their father, though he was not certain. Boyle asked: "By this time you had a serious fear that your brother would kill a member of your family?" Dion replied: "If things escalated to that point." Dion said he never thought to tell anyone about his fears, explaining "things had been growing gradually" and that "there was no point of alarm to go and report it". During the inquiry on Wednesday, Axel was likened to "sociopathic" murderer, Anton Chugurh, from the famous Hollywood film 'No Country for Old Men', by his brother, Dion. The brother said he was left "concerned" after watching the film, as he said his brother had reminded him of emotionless serial killer Chugurh, who killed 10 people. He told the inquiry: "That’s why it concerned me. I felt the threat to be within the home. Even then nothing had ever come of it." The older Rudakubana also told the inquiry that the killer was prone to violent outbursts when he was younger, and that they had gotten worse after he was expelled from school in October 2019. Outbursts, he said, typically took place as they travelled to school together in the car, with his behaviour dubbed "unpredictable and inconsistent". Any disagreement, he added while giving evidence, could "escalate into an argument" Back in January of this year, it was reported that the "devastated" Rudakubana family had been forced to move to a "secret location", according to their church leader. In a statement issued by leaders of The Community Church in Southport, attended by Rudakubana’s father, it was revealed that the family had been moved to a secret location for their protection. Church leaders Dave Gregg, Geoff Grice, Harry Pickett and Mike Rothwell said: “The Rudakubana family have been devastated following this terrible incident, and they have been moved by the police, for their protection, from their home in Banks to a secret location that we are unaware of. As a church, we continue to pray for peace and healing for all those impacted by the tragic events that took place in Southport and in our nation beyond." The church leaders added that while Alphonse had been a "valued" part of its community, his "son and family never attended our Sunday gatherings, nor played any active part in church life". The inquiry continues. Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com
