Southport stabbings: Parents of Bebe King and Elsie Dot Stancombe pay tribute to daughters
Parents of two of the victims of the Southport murders have paid tribute to their daughters, describing them as “pure light” and “so brave”.
Warning: Some readers may find details in this article distressing
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the parents of Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, described how they wanted their daughters to be remembered.
Along with Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, they were murdered by Axel Rudakubana while attending a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on 29 July last year.
Elsie Dot Stancombe (left) and Bebe King (right)
The attack shocked the nation and led to riots across the country in light of misinformation about the killer’s identity.
Rudakubana, 18, was jailed last month for a minimum of 52 years after admitting three counts of murder and ten counts of attempted murder.
Recently, a rapid review into his contact with anti-terror scheme Prevent found his case should have been kept open.
Axel Rudakubana. Pic: Merseyside police
‘So mighty and so strong’
While a clip of Bebe playing outside was shown, her parents, who weren’t pictured during the interview for legal reasons, told the show: “She was so mighty but so strong but so kind at the same time.”
They described visiting her in the hospital after the attack, reading to her and lying next to her to say their “final goodbye”.
“I feel like a lioness and I’ve got to protect my child. We’ve got to make sure she isn’t defined by this. She was pure light. She was pure joy,” Bebe’s mother said.
A ribbon left in tribute to the young girls killed in Southport
‘We’ll never feel true happiness again‘
Jenni and David Stancombe, the parents of Elsie, described their daughter as fearless and brave.
In the aftermath of the attack, Taylor Swift asked to meet the families at one of her shows at Wembley Stadium, Elsie’s mother told the show.
She added it would have been a “dream come true” for the youngster if she’d known the pop star had known she existed.
They added they had since started a charity called Elsie’s Story.
“We’ll never feel true happiness again… ever, but we might just feel a little bit of something if we make another child smile, for Elsie,” Ms Stancombe said.
She added the “massive” sentence Rudakubana received didn’t make them feel any better, because even if he spent the rest of his life in prison, it wouldn’t bring their daughter back.
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Southport attack: Prevent review released
The parents of the two girls previously spoke to The Sunday Times and described the moment they were told “something awful had happened” to their children.
In the days following the stabbings, a number of false claims circulated on social media about the attack – including a false name and incorrect claims that the attacker was a recently arrived asylum seeker – with some of that misinformation believed to have fuelled rioting in various parts of England.
‘Highly likely’ killer will never be released
Rudakubana was 17 years old when he walked into the dance studio, indiscriminately stabbing his victims with a 20cm blade he had bought on Amazon.
As well as the murders of the three girls, he also admitted trying to murder eight other children, as well as instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.
He was given 13 life sentences, with the judge, Mr Justice Goose, saying the killings had caused “shock and revulsion” around the nation and said it was “highly likely” he would never be released.
Read more:
The 14 minutes of terror that left three children dead
Family of Rudakubana ‘moved to secret location’
The incident was not labelled a terror attack, although officers later found a plastic box containing the toxin ricin under his bed in the village of Banks, Lancashire, along with other weapons including a machete and arrows.
His devices revealed an obsession with violence, war and genocide, and he was found to be in possession of an al Qaeda training manual.
It fell outside the definition of terrorism because police couldn’t identify the killer’s motive
Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
Read more:
Sky’s Beth Rigby running marathon in honour of ‘dearest friend’
Badenoch does not rule out local coalitions with Reform
Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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