Axel Rudakubana, 18, who’s responsible for the Southport stabbings on July 29 of last year, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 52 years.
Now, the police uncovered many of his fatal belongings in his room, including containers used in an attempt to manufacture the poison, ricin, which is a biological toxin that is 6,000 times more poisonous than cyanide.
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What Rudakubana has done
Rudakubana was charged with the murder of three girls, Alice Da Silva Aguiar, nine; Bebe King, six; and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
In addition, he was charged with the attempted murder of 10 other people, two adults, yoga class instructor Leanne Lucas, and businessman John Hayes, on top of eight other children, whose identities are still unknown for legal reasons.
His hearing
On January 23, Rudakubana was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 52 years, in addition to other life sentences for other counts of attempted murder. In other words, he’s been handed 13 life sentences.
He was 17 when he committed the murders
Since Rudakubana was 17 when he committed the murders, in other words, he was still a minor, he couldn’t be given a whole life order sentence as it was legally required that he be sentenced with the minimum term. However, Judge Justice Goose stated that he is highly unlikely to be released from prison.
The things they found in his room
When the police raided his home, they found several weapons, including a knife identical to the one he used to commit the mass stabbing. Furthermore, they found arrows and a box containing an unknown substance, which was later determined to be ricin.
What is Ricin?
According to the New York State Department of Health, ricin is a “chemical poison present in castor beans. As a terrorism agent, ricin can be used as a powder, a mist, a pellet, or can be dissolved in water or weak acid.”
How it affects the body
Ricin prevents the body cells from making the proteins they need, eventually killing these cells. Death due to ricin poisoning could occur within 36 to 72 hours of exposure, whether it be through inhalation, ingestion, skin and eye contact, or injection.
Castor beans were found in his room
Police found 150 castor beans in his room to make ricin, which has no antidote. Moreover, they also found a pestle and mortar, funnels, and a flask that contained ricin residue. Turns out these items were bought on Amazon in 2022.
He could have used it
The court heard that all these items were being used for the preparation of the poison, and had he not been arrested, he could have manufactured up to 12,500 lethal doses of the poison. However, prosecutors told the court there was no solid evidence of Rudakubana using the poison.
Something is better than nothing
According to the Merseyside Police, Detective Chief Inspector Jason Pye, the Senior Investigating Officer of this investigation said:
“Although no outcome at court could possibly ease the pain and trauma of their families, I hope that knowing Rudakubana will now spend a considerable amount of time in prison will bring them some comfort.”
Thoughts and prayers for those who died and suffered
Detective Chief Inspector Pye continued, saying:
“His sustained and ruthless attack took away the lives of three beautiful little girls, Bebe, Elsie, and Alice, and the thoughts of everyone at Merseyside Police remain with their families. Our thoughts are also with the young girls who suffered serious injuries, and all of those who were traumatised by what they saw on that morning.”
