The brother of the Southport attacker testified he feared his sibling would kill someone two years before the deadly stabbing. Dion Rudakubana told a public inquiry his brother Axel's behaviour resembled a sociopathic murderer from the film "No Country For Old Men".
Axel Rudakubana murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year. Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, died in the attack. The then 17-year-old also attempted to murder ten others and was sentenced to a minimum of 52 years.
Dion Rudakubana revealed the family hid knives in their home and called police multiple times due to concerns about his brother's violence. In messages sent to a friend in December 2022 and shown to the inquiry, he wrote: «The risk of him doing something potentially fatal is the major concern.» He added: «The fights are scary because of the danger of someone dying. My brother doesn't really show mercy so my dad just has to try not to die. We hide knives to mitigate that factor.»
Escalating violence
Giving evidence via video link at the Southport Inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall, Dion described being «increasingly wary» of his brother's «violent outbursts». He said Axel's behavior worsened after his expulsion from school in October 2019. The outbursts became more frequent, occurring «probably a few times a week». Arguments later escalated to physical violence during the COVID pandemic.
Dion told the inquiry he had to be cautious when speaking to his brother. «I had to be cautious if I did speak to him because any disagreement could escalate into an argument», he testified. He described Axel's behaviour as «unpredictable and inconsistent» and said: «There had been various events where we had to call the police out where indications were there.»
Family breakdown
The inquiry heard the family struggled to manage Axel's behavior. Dion explained his parents felt unable to punish his brother due to the risks involved. «It didn't make sense to try and punish and also there was a heavy risk of doing so. He didn't trust anyone and he needed support», he said. Nicholas Moss KC, senior counsel to the inquiry, noted it appeared «AR's parents were aware of aspects of AR's conduct that might have been expected to give rise to a concern».
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
