Boy, 17, accused of murdering three girls at Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport is a ‘quiet’ choirboy who was ‘unwilling to leave the house and speak with his…see more

Boy, 17, accused of murdering three girls at Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport is a ‘quiet’ choirboy who was ‘unwilling to leave the house and speak with his family’, court hears

The 17-year-old boy accused of murdering three girls at a dance class in Southport is a ‘quiet’ choirboy who was ‘unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family’, a court has heard.

Axel Rudakubana has appeared in court accused of murdering the children at a Taylor-Swift themed event on Monday.

The teenager, who refused to speak at his court appearance in Liverpool, had been diagnosed with autism and was ‘unwilling to leave the house’ and talk to his family ‘for a period of time’, the court heard.

Neighbours claimed they could often hear the teen, from Cardiff, singing inside his family home in the village of Banks, according to the Mirror.

One local told the Liverpool Echo how they would often ‘hear singing’ from the ‘quiet choirboy’ at the terraced home where he lived with his parents and 20-year-old brother. ‘It’s a massive, massive shock,’ the neighbour said.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC described his medical condition, saying: ‘He has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. We understand he has been unwilling to leave the house and communicate with his family for a period of time.’

Judge Andrew Menary condemned the ‘idiotic rioting’ which has broken out since the attack and said he named Rudakubana to fill the information vacuum exploited by ‘others who are up to mischief’.

He said: ‘The idiotic rioting going on at the moment is, in part, fed by the nonsense online that feeds on the vacuum.’

Judge Menary explained what he described as an ‘exceptional’ decision against imposing reporting restrictions sought by both prosecution and defence, which would have granted the defendant anonymity until he turns 18 next Wednesday.

He said he had to balance a risk to the defendant’s family and initial risk to him while settling into custody with the public interest in accurately reporting his identity.

Granting the Daily Mail’s request not to impose restrictions, he said: ‘By continuing to prevent full reporting at this stage has the disadvantage of allowing others who are up to mischief to continue to spread misinformation in a vacuum and runs the risk that when the information becomes publicly available in six days’ time, that will provide an additional excuse for a fresh round of public disorder.

‘Allowing full reporting will undoubtedly remove some of the misreporting as to the identity of the defendant.’

The judge added: ‘The defendant Axel Rudakubana appears before me having been sent to this court earlier this morning by the Youth Court in respect of multiple charges of murder and attempted murder.

‘The alleged offending in his case is shocking and could hardly be more serious, involving as it does the killing and serious wounding of multiple victims, most of whom were young children, in an incident in Southport on Monday 29 July 2024.’