Child murderer Axel Rudakubana faces fresh criminal charges after allegedly attacking prison staff with scalding liquid and hiding weapons in his cell.
Southport child murderer Axel Rudakubana will appear before the Old Bailey on Monday as he faces charges of attempting to inflict severe harm on a London prison officer.
Court date set at Old Bailey
The 20-year-old is scheduled to join the plea and trial preparation hearing at 2pm via video link from custody.
The proceedings will take place at the central London court before Judge Mark Lucraft KC.
Rudakubana was formally charged on Tuesday, July 28, before his case was sent to the Old Bailey.
Scalding liquid hurled at officer
The charges stem from an incident at HMP Belmarsh in south London on May 8, where Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water mixed with sugar at a member of staff.
Details of the alleged assault were disclosed during a hearing at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last month.
The court heard that
prompt medical attention prevented lasting injury
to the prison worker.
Weapons and threats discovered behind bars
The boiling water attack followed an earlier confrontation on May 6, when Rudakubana allegedly threatened to “soak” a female officer outside his cell if she did not pass him a newspaper.
He is then alleged to have thrown an unknown liquid at her through his cell door hatch.
In total, he faces two counts of assaulting an emergency worker relating to incidents on May 6 and October 28 last year.
During the October incident, Rudakubana allegedly punched a male officer who had challenged him.
He is also charged with possession of an offensive weapon in prison on June 26 last year, after searchers found sharpened stone shards stuck to the underside of a shelving unit in his cell. The shards were thought to have been prised from the floor.
Broadmoor hospital transfer completed
Rudakubana is serving a life sentence for the murders of Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven.
He also attempted to murder eight other children and two adults during an attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024.
In July this year, the Ministry of Justice confirmed that Rudakubana had been moved from his London prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Berkshire.
Offenders with mental disorders who present an increased risk and cannot be managed safely in a prison environment are moved to secure psychiatric facilities, where they are treated as patients rather than prisoners.
Broadmoor is the oldest of the UK’s three high-security hospitals and has held high-profile criminals including Ronnie Kray and Peter Sutcliffe.