Delays in Accessing Southport Killer’s Internet History Raise Questions About Investigation

Police face lengthy legal hurdles with US tech firms to retrieve deleted search data, potentially critical to understanding Axel Rudakubana's motives.

• Axel Rudakubana, sentenced to 52 years for the murder of three and attempted murder of ten, deleted his internet search history minutes before his attack on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.
• Police have struggled to access crucial data from Google and Microsoft due to the complex legal process required for non-terrorism cases involving US-based tech firms.
• The only recovered internet activity from Rudakubana’s devices was a search for a video of a stabbing attack on a bishop in Sydney, conducted shortly before the Southport attack.
• Investigators have not found evidence of ideological or religious motives, which has hindered faster data retrieval processes typically used in terrorism cases.
• Critics, including former counterterrorism officials, have called for greater cooperation from tech companies and questioned the classification of the attack as non-terrorist.

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