The father of child murderer Axel Rudakubana apologised during the inquiry into the Southport massacre after expressing his regret for not reporting his son’s machete delivery to the police.
Alphonse Rudakubana revealed he had hidden the knife from his then-teenage son, but failed to ask him any questions about the purchase.
Axel, then 17 and who is currently serving a life sentence, murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at a property on Hart Street on July 29 last year.
Liverpool Town Hall heard that a weapon ordered by Axel, using a false name, was delivered to Alphonse at their home on Old School Close in Banks, Lancashire, in June 2023.
Speaking via videolink from a remote location, Alphonse told the inquiry: “That’s an instance I regret so much. I should have called the police. I regret that I didn’t tell the police because if I had, what happened on July 29 wouldn’t have happened. They would have come and checked everything.”
Nicholas Moss KC, counsel to the inquest, asked Alphonse: “You didn’t ask Axel anything about it at any time?”
He replied: “No, it would have quickly escalated. I was scared by then. I thought it was a knife. I made a decision not to give it to him.”
In his statement, Alphonse said: “Axel Rudakubana overheard my conversation with the delivery driver and following delivery, he asked for the package. I refused and expected there to be an outburst but unusually, he accepted being told no.”
Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, died at the hands of Axel Rudakubana
| GETTYAsked why he did not open the box, Alphonse said: “It wasn’t my property and that would have created a dangerous reaction from him.”
Alphonse said he could not tell if it was he or his son who accepted a package of a second machete, in October 2023. He also noticed a bow and arrow under Axel’s bed while he was brushing his teeth.
He said if it were him, he would have placed the parcel with age restriction labels behind the front door and could not remember if his son took it away.
Asked if he should have called 999 after the second delivery, Alphonse said: “If I knew there was a machete, it was a knife, I would have, yeah, I would accept it, but I didn’t. Alphonse said he knew his son had ordered seeds, which he later discovered had been used to create deadly poison ricin.
However, Alphonse claimed he had overheard him talking with his mother, Laetitia Muzayire, about an interest in gardening.
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Tributes and candles to the victims of the Southport knife attack | GETTY
Asked if he should have been more curious about the orders, Alphonse said: “I was a traumatised person. It wasn’t normal at all.”
He added: “We knew what to do, we knew that it was a police matter this time, but I didn't have the courage to do it on my own. I should say from my point of view I wasn't ready to, but I'm really, really sorry.”
When asked why he was reluctant for information to be shared with youth offending services prior to the attacks, Alphonse said he was worried that the “confidentiality breach with Chidline would happen again” and Axel would “not be able to go back to school”.
Muzayire is due to give evidence later today. The inquiry continues.
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