Teen Changes Plea in UK Dance Party Killings

An 18-year-old British teenager suddenly decided to plead guilty to murdering three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the northern town of Southport last July. The crime had sent shockwaves across the nation and led to several days of riots. Axel Rudakubana, now 18 but only 17 at the time of the incident, was due to stand trial at Liverpool Crown Court when he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty. The three victims, Bebe King (6), Elsie Dot Stancombe (7), and Alice Dasilva Aguiar (9), were attending a fun dance event for kids during the summer break. Rudakubana also admitted to attempting to kill ten other people during the attack. He was also found guilty of producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing a training manual from Al Qaeda.Judge Julian Goose announced that Rudakubana would be sentenced on Thursday and would likely spend the rest of his life in jail. The judge noted that the families of the victims weren't present for the plea change, as the prosecution's opening statement wasn't expected until the next day. Rudakubana was arrested soon after the attack in the quiet seaside town north of Liverpool. Police mentioned that despite the Al Qaeda manual, they didn't think the incident was related to terrorism. After the murders, Southport saw large disturbances due to false social media reports claiming the suspect was a radical Islamist migrant. These disturbances spread across Britain, with attacks on mosques and shelters for asylum seekers. Prime Minister Keir Starmer blamed far-right thugs for the riots, with over 1, 500 arrests made.