Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar died at the hands of Axel Rudakubana last summer and he is now serving a minimum of 52 years behind bars
Southport child killer Axel Rudakubana’s name has been banned from the public inquiry into the tragedy.
The hearings into the murders of Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe and Alice da Silva Aguiar began in Liverpool today.
Their killer Rudakubana, 18, is serving a minimum of 52 years behind bars after pleading guilty to the murders. He also admitted ten counts of attempted murder, producing ricin and possessing an Al Qaeda training manual.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced a public inquiry into the tragedy in January. It is being chaired by former judge Sir Adrian Fulford, who presided over the trial of Sarah Everard’s killer Wayne Couzens.
He opened the hearing today by referring to Rudakubana for the first and only time during the course of the inquiry.
Explaining his decision, Sir Adrian said it was for the benefit of the girls’ families – who he met ahead of the inquiry. He said: “For the benefit of the victims and their families, for whom this is an issue of significant and wholly understandable sensitivity, his name should not be used again during this Inquiry.
“He will simply be referred to as ‘the perpetrator’ or AR. He was just short of his 18th birthday. He murdered three of the young girls taking part in the event.
“He left eight other children and 2 adults gravely physically injured.
“An additional sixteen escaped without physical injury but they, like all of those who were bodily wounded, suffered significant psychological trauma.”
After the killings it emerged he had been referred to the Prevent programme three times as a schoolboy.Sir Adrian is chairing a two-phase review.
The first will look at policing, the criminal justice system and the agencies that were involved with Rudakubana.
It will then examine the wider issue of young people being drawn into violent extremism.