Handout photo issued by Merseyside Police of Axel Rudakubana. (Image: PA)
Evil Southport killer Axel Rudakubana cowered in his prison cell on Tuesday – as a legal technicality led a judge to resentence him again for ‘life’ behind bars.
Last month Rudakubana, 18, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 52 years for murdering Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine – and injuring 10 others – at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club on 29 July last year.
Mr Justice Goose’s sentencing at Liverpool Crown Court was adjusted to a minimum of 51 years and 190 days due to the amount of time Rudakubana had already spent in custody since being arrested at the scene holding a bloodied knife.
On Tuesday under a minor legal technicality, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC called for a brief virtual hearing to correct the wording – and the legal provision – of last month’s life sentence.
But instead of appearing in a video suite at HMP Belmarsh – where he’s in solitary confinement for his own protection – at the high security jail, cowardly Rudakubana refused to leave his cell.
Carmel Wilde, defending, told the court: “We understand from staff at Belmarsh that he has refused to leave his cell to attend court or to speak to his legal team.”
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The judge asked: “The defendant declined to attend the hearing. That is a voluntary refusal to attend is it?”
Ms Wilde added: “It seems so yes.”
The judge went on: “The inference then is he has waived his right.”
The refusal comes as cold-hearted Rudakubana twice disrupted his own sentencing hearing from the dock at Liverpool Crown Court last month, screaming at Mr Justice Goose and moaning that he “felt ill” and “needed paramedics”.
Twice Mr Justice Goose ordered Rudakubana to be led down to the cells, as the furious judge told the court how medics had examined the killer at length and found absolutely nothing wrong with him.
It turned out that attention-seeking Rudakubana instead had been refusing to eat food for 10 days prior to being jailed, in what may have been a vain effort to postpone his inevitable long-term caging.
As Rudakubana was led down to the cells over his screaming last month the angry dad of victim Alice – Sergio Aguiar – yelled “Coward” at him.
On Tuesday prosecutor Ms Heer KC explained that they needed the brief virtual hearing to address a legal technicality from last month’s sentencing.
She said that when jailed on 23rd January she had advised the judge to impose a “mandatory life sentence” under section 275 of the Sentencing Act 2020 – on the three murder counts.
However, because Rudakubana was aged under 18 at the time he carried out his brutal attack, he should be been sentenced under section 259 of the same act, the same sentence of detention but phrased instead “as during His Majesty’s Pleasure.”
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(left to right) Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine (Image: PA)
Ms Heer added: “It’s an error which is technical in nature, although it’s important because it’s the power that the court exercises to commit the defendant to custody.
“But it has no practical effect on either the nature of the sentence, it remains a life sentence, and it has no practical effect on the overall length of the minimum term. So I invite the court to correct that.”
Rudakubana’s defence team, also listening in on the virtual hearing, made no objection to the alteration in the sentencing.
Mr Justice Goose said: “The case of the Crown against Axel Rudakubana was listed for mention on the application of the prosecution.
“The purpose of this hearing is to correct a technical error but which will have no effect on the total sentence imposed on the defendant on January 23 this year.”
He said the sentence is “still a life sentence”, but of a different kind.
He added: “Accordingly, I correct the sentences on counts 1 to 3 to be detention at his Majesty’s pleasure.
“Therefore, Axel Rudakubana will serve three sentences of detention at his Majesty’s pleasure on counts 1 to 3, and ten sentences of custody for life on counts 4 to 13.
“Those sentences and all others will be served concurrently. The minimum term to be served in custody is 51 years and 190 days. That concludes this hearing.
“The defendant has refused to waive his right to attend or to be here.”