Southport Taylor Swift dance class murders: not guilty pleas entered for suspect

Axel Rudakubana has had not guilty pleas entered on his behalf regarding the charges of the Southport Taylor Swift dance class murders.

Earlier this summer, the 18-year-old was accused of being the attacker who fatally killed three children during a Swift-themed dance and yoga workshop on Hart Street. The three victims were six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar.

As reported by The Guardian, Rudakubana appeared at Liverpool Crown Court via video link from HMP Belmarsh, where he is being held. The accused attacker did not speak during the hearing and had the not-guilty pleas entered for him to the charges of the three murders as well as 10 counts of attempted murders for alleged attacks on eight other children and two adults.

He was also charged with possession of a knife, production of biological toxin ricin and possession of information likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing to commit an act of terrorism.

At the time of his arrest, Rudakubana was 17 years old. According to police, he is originally from Cardiff and lived in the village of Banks close to Southport in Merseyside, England.

On July 30, Swift shared a handwritten statement addressing the attack on her Instagram Stories feed. “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport is washing over me continuously, and I’m just completely in shock,” she wrote.

“The loss of life and innocence, and the horrendous trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders.”

The singer continued: “These were just little kids at a dance class. I am at a complete loss for how to ever convey my sympathies to these families.”

Swift, along with her mother Andrea, also took the time to meet some of the survivors at one of her ‘Eras’ tour shows at Wembley Stadium earlier this summer. The ‘Bejeweled’ singer and her mother took photos with two of the survivors backstage. The photos showed Swift with the two girls – one of which appears to have a bandage around her left forearm – posing together alongside Andrea.

A couple of Swift fans also went on to launch a fundraiser to help raise funds for those affected by the tragedy and raised over £394,000.

In a statement to the press, Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said: “It is understood that the children were attending a Taylor Swift event at a dance school when the offender armed with a knife walked into the premises and started to attack the children.

“We believe that the adults who were injured were bravely trying to protect the children who were being attacked.”

In other news, Swift recently surpassed Drake to become the artist with the most wins at the Billboard Music Awards.