Southport killer: police in fight to access web history

Police have been unable to check what Axel Rudakubana was searching online before he murdered three children in Southport because they are locked in a lengthy US legal process to obtain the data from Google and Microsoft, it can be revealed.

- Josh Halliday Dan Milmo

The internet history could hold vital clues about why the killer targeted young girls, but it was deleted by Rudakubana 10 minutes before he left home to carry out the "ferocious assault" on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on 29 July 2024.

Police fear it could be years before they see the evidence because they have had to apply using a specialist prosecutor in the US, where the technology companies are based.

DCI Jason Pye, the detective leading the investigation for Merseyside police, said: "We're going through that process at the moment but we've been told it could be years."

The browsing history is potentially highly significant as it is thought to show what Rudakubana, 18, was searching in the months leading up to his "planned and premeditated" attack, in which he "sadistically" murdered three young girls and attempted to kill eight other children, plus two adults who tried to save them.

One aspect of the crime that has remained a mystery is why the teenager specifically targeted the dance class for girls, which took place five miles from his home in the Lancashire village of Banks.

Officers believe he must have seen the event advertised but have so far been unable to prove that is the case. He bought the 20cm kitchen knife used in the attack on Amazon just days after the class was advertised on 7 July.

The family of one girl who was stabbed three times by Rudakubana said yesterday it was “undeniable that there remain more questions which need answering about how we got to this point”.