Not guilty pleas have been entered on behalf of Southport stabbings suspect Axel Rudakubana after he refused to speak in court.

The 18-year-old appeared at Liverpool Crown Court today by video-link from Belmarsh prison, wearing a grey tracksuit.

He didn’t answer when asked to confirm his name and sat fiddling with his hands as a prison officer confirmed he could hear the court.

Rudakubana refused to reply when the clerk read out the indictment and the judge Mr Justice Goose directed not guilty pleas should be entered on all 16 counts.

He is charged with three counts of murder, 10 of attempted murder and possession of a kitchen knife over the attack in the Merseyside town on 29 July.

Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar were killed, while eight other children, aged between seven and 13, were injured, along with yoga instructor Leanne Lucas and businessman John Hayes.

Rudakubana was aged 17 at the time of the attack at The Hart Space, which has not been declared terror-related, according to Merseyside Police.

He was later charged with producing ricin and allegedly possessing an al Qaeda training manual apparently found in searches of his home in Banks, Lancashire, in the days after the mass stabbing.

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The first additional charge, under the Biological Weapons Act 1974, states that he produced a biological toxin, namely ricin, on or before 29 July.

The second, under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000, alleges he possessed a PDF file entitled “Military Studies In The Jihad Against The Tyrants: The Al-Qaeda Training Manual”.

Rudakubana is due to face trial at the same court on 20 January, with the case expected to last up to four weeks.

There were around 15 family members of the victims in court for today’s hearing, including Alice’s parents.

At times, Rudakubana swayed his head from side to side, bowed his head towards his knees and wobbled his jaw.

The judge told him: “Your trial will now take place on 20 January and you will be transferred from where you are now to a more convenient place for the purposes of attending this court.”

A criminology student has been found guilty of the murder and attempted murder of two women on a beach in Bournemouth.

Nasen Saadi, 20, from Croydon, fatally stabbed personal trainer Amie Gray, 34, ten times as she sat beside a fire on Durley Chine Beach in Dorset on the evening of 24 May.

Her friend Leanne Miles, who was sitting next to her on the beach, suffered 20 knife injuries but survived the attack.

The trial at Winchester Crown Court heard how Saadi, who was studying criminology at Greenwich University in London, was asked by one of his lecturers: “You’re not planning a murder, are you?”

He had asked teachers questions about self-defence for murder and how long DNA stays behind.

Saadi told detectives he had an interest in true crime, unsolved cases and horror movies.

During the trial, the jury heard how in the days leading up to the attack Saadi had checked into a Travelodge in Bournemouth before moving to a different hotel.

He went to a cinema to watch The Strangers – Chapter 1, described by the prosecution as a slasher movie where the male and female leads both get stabbed.

Lead prosecutor Sarah Jones KC said: “It suggests, doesn’t it, that the defendant gravitated to what he likes to watch or sought inspiration or encouragement from what he saw.”

The jury was shown CCTV footage which the prosecution said showed Saadi walking along the beach promenade.

A CCTV audio recording was also played for the jury of screaming and a male voice at around 11.39pm – the time of the attack.

Ms Jones told the jury Saadi left the victims on the sand “to bleed to death” while he moved away and tried to disappear “back into the shadows”.

‘I am getting dizzy, please hurry up’

A recording of a 999 call made by Ms Miles was played to the court in which she was heard crying in pain.

The 39-year-old told the operator: “I have been stabbed loads of times. Oh my God, I am getting dizzy, please hurry up, please hurry up.”

She continues: “I am bleeding everywhere, I have been stabbed loads of times.”

The clothes Saadi was wearing during the attack and the weapon used were never recovered.

Analysis of Saadi’s laptop showed that since January 2024 there were searches about murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler and her killer Levi Bellfield, as well as Brianna Ghey and her killers.

There were also multiple visits to websites selling knives and searches for “why do criminals get away with crimes in rural areas” and “why is it harder for a criminal to get caught if he does it in another town”.

During searches of his bedroom at his aunt’s home where he was living, police found five knives, including a machete and an ornamental knife, as well as a self-defence spray.

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Officers also seized a blue Trespass rucksack which contained white latex gloves, two of which were inside out, a black balaclava, a torch and used wet wipes.

In a police interview shown in court, Saadi said: “I am not responsible and I have no reason to attack someone for no reason.”

Asked where he was at the time of the attack, he replied “no comment” and when asked if he was the person in the CCTV footage, he replied: “Beaches are popular places… many people… CCTV shows there were many people walking, it’s not just one person.”

Saadi, who had pleaded guilty to failing to provide his mobile phone code to police, did not give evidence during the trial.

A driver who inhaled laughing gas at the wheel has been jailed for nine years and four months after he admitted killing his three teenage passengers in a high-speed crash.

Thomas Johnson, 19, had admitted to taking nitrous oxide through balloons while driving and exceeding speeds of more than 100mph on a road with a speed limit of 30mph.

He pleaded guilty to causing the deaths earlier on Wednesday at Oxford Crown Court.

Addressing Johnson, Judge Emma Nott said his actions were “all for teenage thrills” and he would be “forever defined” by his “teenage mistakes”.

Daniel Hancock, 18, Ethan Goddard, 18, and Elliot Pullen, 17, died in the crash in Marcham, Oxfordshire, in June last year.

Their families have spoken of being “united by grief” by the tragedy and hope the sentence “will serve as a deterrent” to others.

Mobile phone video footage taken inside the BMW 3 series, moments before it crashed, showed the boys laughing and passing nitrous oxide canisters to the front while Johnson had a balloon to his face.

The tyres can be heard screeching as the vehicle drifts around a corner at high speed.

Thames Valley Police also released an ANPR photo of the driver and front passenger with balloons to their mouths.

CCTV footage shows the vehicle overtaking another car at more than 100mph. Police say the vehicle’s electronic stability control had been deliberately switched off.

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Johnson, who sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash, says he does not remember what happened.

In a police interview afterwards, he revealed he was aware of the risks.

Asked if he had ever taken nitrous oxide, Johnson responded: “No, not this year. I remember doing it once last year with a group of friends before I could even drive but I don’t have any recollection after that.”

Asked if he remembered what the effect of it was, Johnson replied: “It made my head feel dizzy.”

Families hope sentence is ‘deterrent’

Commenting on the case, a joint family statement said: “No amount of imprisonment will bring our sons back home and we take little comfort in the sentencing of someone else’s son.

“However, we do hope that this will serve as a deterrent to other drivers, especially young men.

“If just one person adjusts their attitude to driving, or one person thinks twice about being a passenger along for the ride then there is hope that something good can come out of this tragedy.”

‘Permanent living nightmare’

Elliot Pullen’s parents, Kate and Giles, and his sister Mia issued a separate statement describing their sense of loss and being “united by grief” in what was a “permanent living nightmare”. They said they had been “sucked into a world of grief, sadness and pain”.

The parents of Ethan Goddard paid tribute, writing that he “was a fun, loving, kind, generous, caring young lad, always thinking of others, and getting the most out of life”.

They added he “was loved so very much and made his family so proud”.

Meanwhile, Daniel Hancock’s family said in a statement he “was truly loved and will always be missed. He was caring, generous and selfless.”

And they issued a warning to other young drivers.

“Daniel died three miles from home in a completely avoidable crash. Please don’t be that driver who shows such disregard for their friends’ lives.”

Detective Sergeant Tony Jenkins, of Thames Valley Police’s serious collisions investigative unit, explained that nitrous oxide impairs a driver’s ability to make decisions.

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He warned about the risks of driving while under the influence, especially around Christmas time, when people are in a particularly celebratory mood.

“Any impairment while driving is inherently dangerous. It is reckless,” he told Sky News.

“In this case, the use of nitrous oxide took place over a number of hours and even up to 30 seconds before the crash consumption was taking place.”

The recreational use of nitrous oxide was banned by the government months after Johnson’s car crash but drug driving has long been illegal.