Teenager who killed three girls at Taylor Swift UK Dance Class gets life in prison

18-year-old Axel Rudakubana was jailed for life at a Liverpool court today for fatally stabbing three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England, last summer.

Rudakubana must serve at least 52 years of the life sentence.

Today’s sentence handed down by Judge Julian Goose was widely reported in the UK, including by the BBC, The New York Times and other prominent media covering the trial. Rudakubana pleaded guilty earlier this week. According to the Times, he refused to attend the sentencing after a series of outbursts earlier in the day prompted Judge Goose to order him removed from court.

In addition to the three murders, Rudakubana injured 10 others present at the dance studio on July 29 last year.

“The harm that Rudakubana has caused to every family, to every child, to society has been profound and permanent,” the judge said today. “It was such extreme violence of extreme and unusually high seriousness that it is difficult to understand why it was done.”

According to the judge, a life sentence without the possibility of parole was not allowed in this case because Rudakubana was 17 at the time of the crime. The judge said, according to news reports, that Rudakubana is unlikely to ever be released from prison.

The horrific murders made international headlines last summer, not only because of the crime itself, but because of Swift’s swift public statements of support for the victims and their families. She met personally with the families of the girls killed and issued a statement saying: “The horror of yesterday’s attack in Southport continues to wash over me and I am just completely in shock…The loss of life and innocence and the terrible trauma inflicted on everyone who was there, the families and first responders. It was just little kids in a dance class. I’m at a complete loss as to how I’m ever going to convey my sympathy to these families.”