Overview
- Giving evidence by video from a secret location, Dion Rudakubana said he viewed the risk of his brother doing “something potentially fatal” as a major concern and that the family hid knives at home.
- He told counsel he believed Axel had previously tried to stab their father and recalled his last encounter in summer 2023 when Axel hurled a metal bottle at him.
- Dion compared Axel to the sociopathic killer in No Country for Old Men and described frequent violent outbursts that worsened after Axel’s 2019 expulsion from school.
- Earlier hearings heard Lancashire officials accept failures, including not convening a multi-agency risk assessment and closing referrals for lack of parental consent after incidents such as Axel being found on a bus with a knife in March 2022.
- Phase one of the Southport Inquiry is due to conclude this week, with the parents scheduled to give evidence, as the panel examines whether missed interventions preceded the July 2024 murders for which Axel received a life sentence with a 52-year minimum.