Attempts to get Southport killer back to school 'ended less than a year before attack'

Attempts to get the Southport killer to leave the house and go to school ended less than a year before he launched his deadly attack, the inquiry has heard.

Axel Rudakubana, who had autism, had a history of taking knives into school, was violent in the home and rarely left the house in the months before the stabbings, the inquiry has heard. However, Lancashire County Council's family support workers closed his case 10 months before the attack because they could not get to see him, in what the inquiry barrister described as a "counsel of despair".

Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, who was six, and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July last year by Rudakubana, then aged 17. Presfield High School, which specialised in pupils with autism, made a referral to a safeguarding hub on 21 March 2023 because they had not seen Rudakubana for 10 months.

His father, Alphonse, had told the school attendance team that the parents would "pay the price" if staff went into the home. His mother, Letitia, "aired her annoyance" over the visit, said she saw "no reason" for it, and "flatly refused" to let them see her son, the inquiry heard.

Internally, school staff had commented in an email that "short of breaking in, I don't know how to see this kid". Instead, the case was taken on by family support workers at the council's child and family wellbeing service to deal with his anxiety, social isolation and poor school attendance.

Ashleigh Williams and Sharon Barrett made a home visit on 11 April, when they found Rudakubana calm but said he remained sitting in the same position in his chair, wearing headphones, throughout the visit. He had stopped seeing the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) because he could not see the point and had not been attending school because of his anxiety.

A 'strained' family dynamic The family dynamic was "very strained.