Axel Rudakubana was “clearly ordering” ingredients used to make the poison ricin, the old neighbour told reporters today, after the killer was jailed for 52 years
A former neighbour of Axel Rudakubana has reportedly claimed the killer was ordering packages to be delivered to other houses.
She believes he was “clearly ordering” ingredients used to make poison ricin, the BBC reported. Ricin, a biological toxin 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide, was found when police raided Rudakubana’s home after the attack in Southport in July last year, with evidence suggesting the equipment needed for the substance was bought in 2022.
Caroline, a former neighbour of Rudakubana in Banks, Lancashire, told the broadcaster: “He was clearly ordering seeds and having them delivered to a neighbour, possibly a decoy, so that it couldn’t be traced to the address that he was living at.”
Caroline also told the BBC that she believes her cat came into contact with the ricin and began “convulsing and foaming at the mouth”. Although no toxicology test was performed on the cat, vets allegedly informed Caroline that they suspect it had been poisoned.
The ricin was found in a sealed food container under Rudakubana’s bed, where officers also found a pair of safety goggles, a lab beaker and a pestle and mortar.
A bag which had contained castor seeds, used to make the substance, was also found – having been bought in 2022. The form the poison was found in was deemed to be “low to very low risk”.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC told Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday: “Due to the risk to public health, the search was halted until specialist protective equipment was available.”
When it was taken to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, Dr Pearce, an expert in chemical and biological warfare agents, concluded the container did indeed contain “actively toxic ricin pulp” which had been produced using equipment found in the defendant’s bedroom.
Evidence from Amazon suggests the defendant purchased the equipment in early 2022, Ms Heer said. The court heard exposure to ricin – a naturally occurring toxin – could result in death as a result of multi-organ failure and/or acute respiratory distress.
“There is no antidote (for ricin poisoning) and only a very small amount of it may be deadly,” Ms Heer said. Dr Pearce concluded that equipment in Rudakubana’s bedroom “had been used to make a crude preparation of ricin in sufficient quantities to be lethal”, Ms Heer said.
“There is no evidence that the ricin produced was ever used either during this attack or at any other time,” she added.
