WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT The three young girls who died in the Southport tragedy could be alive today if the killer’s dad had reported his son’s machete, the father now admits
The father of the Southport killer believes the atrocity would not have happened had he reported the delivery of a machete his son had ordered to police. Alphonse Rudakubana told the public inquiry he hid the knife from his son but did not challenge him about it.
Axel Rudakubana, then 17, murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year.
A public inquiry into the murders heard a machete ordered by the teenager, using a false name, was delivered to his father at their home in Old School Close, Banks, Lancashire, in June 2023, a month before the school holiday horror.
Alphonse, giving evidence to the Southport Inquiry for a second day at Liverpool Town Hall on Thursday, said: “That is an instance I regret so much, I should have called the police.
“I regret that I didn’t tell the police because if I did, the 29th wouldn’t have happened. They would have come and checked everything in his room.”
Asked what message him taking no further action beyond intercepting the package sent to his son, Mr Rudakubana said: “I think it may have emboldened him, encouraged him to order more things.”
Alphonse Rudakubana said he did not know a delivery to his house contained a machete, despite the packaging reading “age verification, age 18 and over” and having “knife warehouse” as the return address, the inquiry heard.
The father of the Southport killer admitted that he knew a knife had been delivered to the family home in June 2023 but denied knowing a second package in October that year contained a weapon.
He said of the second delivery: “I picked it up but I didn’t read the content, I didn’t know it was a knife. I wouldn’t have given it to him.” Mr Rudakubana said he had taken the October package and put it behind a door inside the house.
Nicholas Moss KC asked: “Whether it was one machete or two that you knew had been delivered, it was really serious escalation in AR’s conduct about which you should’ve called the police, reported it to CAMHS and or reported to social services, do you agree?”
He replied: “If I knew it was a machete, it was a knife – I would have, I would accept it but I didn’t know.”
The father of Axel Rudakubana admitted it is “terrible” that he did not read the label on a parcel containing knives which read: “bladed article”.
The Southport Inquiry heard Alphonse Rudakubana received the Amazon delivery of two knives on July 15 2024, one of which was used in the Southport attack.
Mr Rudakubana said he was “probably half awake” and would have taken the parcel, placed it behind the front door and gone back to sleep.
Asked why he was not reading labels given his son’s history with weapons, the father said: “I’m sorry I didn’t read. I don’t have a good (explanation). It’s terrible.”
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