'CRUEL AND PURE EVIL...THE ACT! OF A COWARD'

Brave parents of little Bebe, 6, Elsie, 7 and Alice, 9, left with 'shattered souls' by 'sadistic' actions of Southport killer

- By Chris Riches and Paul Jeeves

THE parents of children killed by Axel Rudakubana called him "pure evil" as he hid in his cell while being jailed for 52 years.

Torture-obsessed Southport killer Rudakubana murdered Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.

During the 15-minute rampage he injured another eight girls, dance instructor Leanne Lucas, 36, and hero Jonathan Hayes, 63, who bravely tried to stop the senseless slaughter in Southport on July 29 last year.

Outraged judge Mr Justice Goose said Rudakubana, 18, would have killed all 26 youngsters had many not fled in fear from the Taylor Swift-themed dance club.

Their terrified screams were heard on haunting CCTV footage in Liverpool Crown Court.

Other video played for the first time yesterday showed wounded young children staggering and collapsing sparking sobs and gasps from the public gallery packed with relatives including Alice's parents Sergio and Alexandra.

After his arrest Rudakubana expressed joy over his knifing spree to police, boasting: "It's a good thing those children are dead. I'm so glad six years old, so happy. I don't care, I'm feeling neutral".

He further insulted his victims by trying to interrupt part of the sentencing hearing claiming, "I'm ill, I need a paramedic" - then fleeing like a coward to the cells when the judge said medics had confirmed there was nothing wrong with him.

But his cold-blooded cruelty was best summed up by the parents of Elsie and Alice whose heartbreaking statements were read to the judge, expressing how Rudakubana had destroyed their lives forever.

Devastating

Jenny Stancombe, Elsie's mum in her statement read to the court by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC blasted the twisted teen as "cruel and pure evil" and that his attack was "the act of a coward".