The Trial: The Southport Dance School (Members Only)

Last summer, like thousands of children during the school holidays, three little girls in Southport in the North of England joined their friends to attend a dance school.But six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar never came home.They were brutally attacked when a knifeman went on the rampage. Many others were stabbed and injured that day but Bebe, Elsie and Alice lost their lives. The man accused of their murders is 18 year old Axel Rudakubana. He goes on trial next week. Caroline and Liz will be covering the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Axel Rudakubana has admitted carrying out the attacks on a Southport dance school which claimed the lives of three little girls. Six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed when he went on the rampage with a kitchen knife, as they and other children made friendship bracelets. Today as the families of the girls braced themselves for a trial, he changed his pleas to guilty. Caroline and Liz will outline what we now know about what happened on that day, but also in the days, weeks, months and years before. How police believe he planned to attack pupils at his previous school, and how he was referred to the Government’s Prevent programme years before.The Trial: The SouthPort Dance School is part of the Crime Desk. Press here to subscribe today for ad-free listening, full access to all our shows, early access to new shows, and bonus episodes.Follow us on Instagram @TheTrialPod.Follow us on TikTok @dailymailcrimeFollow us on X @thetrialpodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel @TheCrimeDeskEmail us thetrial@dailymail.comWhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Click here to sign up for The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.Hosts: Liz Hull and George OdlingProducer: Sam MorrisCreative Director: Caroline CheethamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informationLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices\

Today, Caroline and Liz start to discuss the fallout from the horrific attack on children in Southport. How Axel Rudakubama was able to murder and attack children when school, the police, social services, mental health workers and even the Government’s Prevent Programme knew about his obsession with violence. Among others asking questions today is the Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said what Axel Rudakubama did that day was terrorism. We’ll bring you his words.Caroline and Liz also chat to barrister and former MP, Lord Alex Carlile about the case, the public inquiry which will now take place, and whether the laws on terrorism need to change.The Trial: The SouthPort Dance School is part of the Crime Desk. Press here to subscribe today for ad-free listening, full access to all our shows, early access to new shows, and bonus episodes.Follow us on Instagram @TheTrialPod.Follow us on TikTok @dailymailcrimeFollow us on X @thetrialpodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel @TheCrimeDeskEmail us thetrial@dailymail.comWhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Click here to sign up for The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.Hosts: Liz Hull and George OdlingProducer: Sam MorrisCreative Director: Caroline CheethamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informationLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices\

Today, Caroline and Liz continue to discuss the fallout from Axel Rudakaban’s guilty pleas.They also chat to criminologist Professor David Wilson about the case, who explains his theories about Rudakubana and why he might have been driven to kill and why that police mug shot may have been part of his plan to become notorious. The Trial: The SouthPort Dance School is part of the Crime Desk. Press here to subscribe today for ad-free listening, full access to all our shows, early access to new shows, and bonus episodes.Follow us on Instagram @TheTrialPod.Follow us on TikTok @dailymailcrimeFollow us on X @thetrialpodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel @TheCrimeDeskEmail us thetrial@dailymail.comWhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Click here to sign up for The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.Hosts: Liz Hull and George OdlingProducer: Sam MorrisCreative Director: Caroline CheethamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informationLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices\

In this episode, Caroline and Liz bring you the moment Axel Rudakubana was sentenced to at least 52 years in prison. In all likelihood he will never be released. The judge said he murdered three of the girls he attacked, but he would have killed more if they hadn’t run for their lives - he wanted to carry out mass murder. In the terrifying attack which lasted for 12 minutes he stabbed child after child hundreds of times inflicting utterly horrific injuries. Then he gloated to the police and said he was glad they were dead. It’s now become clear that Axel Rudakubana was in contact with Lancashire Police on several occasions and 2 years before he attacked the girls in Southport he was caught carrying a knife on a bus, but he was taken home instead of being arrested.The Trial: The SouthPort Dance School is part of the Crime Desk. Press here to subscribe today for ad-free listening, full access to all our shows, early access to new shows, and bonus episodes.Follow us on Instagram @TheTrialPod.Follow us on TikTok @dailymailcrimeFollow us on X @thetrialpodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel @TheCrimeDeskEmail us thetrial@dailymail.comWhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Click here to sign up for The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.Hosts: Liz Hull and George OdlingProducer: Sam MorrisCreative Director: Caroline CheethamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informationLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices\

In today’s episode Caroline and Liz reflect on the fallout from the harrowing details of what was revealed at yesterday’s court hearing as Axel Rukakubana was sentenced to 52 years in prison. They’ll have the words of the parents of the three girls who died, and the other victims who survived, including a 14 year old girl who addressed the court herself.They’ll also have more on what went wrong to allow the attack to ever happen in the first place and how questions are also now being asked about the tech companies who didn’t give the police access to some of the material on his computer because the incident wasn’t classed as terrorism.The Trial: The SouthPort Dance School is part of the Crime Desk. Press here to subscribe today for ad-free listening, full access to all our shows, early access to new shows, and bonus episodes.Follow us on Instagram @TheTrialPod.Follow us on TikTok @dailymailcrimeFollow us on X @thetrialpodcastSubscribe to our YouTube channel @TheCrimeDeskEmail us thetrial@dailymail.comWhatsApp us +447796657512 (start your message with ‘Trial’) Click here to sign up for The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter. It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.Hosts: Liz Hull and George OdlingProducer: Sam MorrisCreative Director: Caroline CheethamProduction Manager: Vittoria CecchiniExecutive producer: Jamie EastA Daily Mail production. Seriously Popular.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more informationLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices\