Southport killer’s sentencing should not have been televised – victims’ families

The families of two of three girls murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last summer have said the sentencing of their killer should not have been televised.

In their first interviews, Jenni and David Stancombe, parents of seven-year-old Elsie Dot, and the parents of Bebe King, six, who cannot be named for legal reasons, spoke to The Sunday Times about the girls.

Elsie’s uncle Chris Stancombe and Bebe’s father said the sentencing of their killer, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana, should not have been broadcast, saying there was too much detail on the girls’ injuries, which is not how they want them to be remembered.

“The sentencing shouldn’t have been televised,” Chris told the Sunday Times.

Bebe’s father added: “We know it has to be heard in court but why did the whole nation need to see it on television?”

The parents reflected on their daughters’ personalities and how they want them to be remembered.

“Everyone says it, don’t they,” Jenni, 35, told the Sunday Times, “that they’re one of a kind? But she truly was.”

David, 36, told of Elsie’s energy and adventurous spirit.

Bebe’s parents reflected on their daughter’s kindness.

Her mother told the Sunday Times: “She had this power to connect with people and the relationships she had with all her family members were different but very special. She had this innate kindness. She had a spark.”

In the interview, the parents discussed their daughters’ excitement for the dance class they went to last July 29.

The Taylor Swift dance class advertised by Leanne Lucas, class instructor who was also stabbed by Axel Rudakabana, sold out quickly, Jenni told the Sunday Times.

The parents recalled the horrifying moment they discovered what had happened at the class in the Hart Space.

Just before midday, Jenni got a call from a mother of one of the other children at the class, she told The Sunday Times.

“’Something awful has happened. Somebody’s stabbed the kids’, she said.

“I said, ‘What do you mean?’,” Jenni says.

“She went, ‘It’s really bad. You need to get here’.

“I just ran. I left the whole house open and got in the car.”

Bebe’s dad said: “I got down Hart Street and saw straight away there were ambulances all over the place.”

The families told of how the tragedy has impacted their other children, including Elsie’s younger sibling.

David said: “You know you say to your kids every day, every night, ‘I won’t let anything happen to you’?

“How could I say that to (Elsie’s sibling) now? Because this has happened to Elsie. How could I sit there and say, ‘I would never let anything happen to you’?”

They also reflected on the unrest in the wake of their daughters being murdered.

More than 400 people have been sentenced for offences in connection with the riots and disorder that broke out in parts of the country after the knife attack by Rudakubana.

Chris remembered being in David and Jenni’s house when riots broke out.

“It was six or seven in the evening,” Chris told The Sunday Times. “All we could hear was sirens and helicopters.”

Rudakubana was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 52 years – one of the highest minimum terms on record – for murdering Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe and Elsie.

He also attempted to kill eight other children, who cannot be named for legal reasons, class instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

The parents did not name their daughters’ killer throughout the interview, referring to him only as “he” or “the offender”, the Sunday Times said.

None of the families had been in court for his shock change of plea on the day his trial was set to begin.

In October, Kate and William visited Southport to deliver hugs and messages of thanks to the victims’ families and the emergency workers.

The couple met Jenni and David along with Bebe’s parents at an undisclosed location.

In a social media post following the visit, William and Kate said: “Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy.”

It was the Princess of Wales’ first public appearance since she finished chemotherapy.

“That meant so much to Jenni,” David told the Sunday Times. “Because it was her first public appearance.

“I won’t say what they said to us, but what they shared with us was really, really powerful, and it was a powerful message and heartfelt, and it meant a lot.”

The families have welcomed plans, announced on January 21 by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, for a public inquiry into Rudakubana.

None of the parents have gone back to work since the stabbings, the Sunday Times reported.

David and Jenni have set up a charity, Elsie’s Story, to help children in need.

David is to run the London Marathon for the charity.