LONDON — A British teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an atrocity prosecutors said was so violent it appeared he had tried to decapitate one of the victims. 

On Monday, Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted carrying out the killings last July in the northern English town of Southport, a crime which was followed by days of nationwide rioting. 

Rudakubana will likely spend the rest of his life in jail for the murders of Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, who were among 26 children attending the summer vacation event. 

He also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder, as well as to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al-Qaida training manual. 

Two of his victims suffered “horrific injuries which … are difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature,” prosecutor Deanna Heer told Liverpool Crown Court. 

Judge Julian Goose described Rudakubana’s actions as “evil,” saying: “I am sure that Rudakubana had a settled and determined intention to carry out these offenses and that, had he been able to, he would have killed each and every child, all 26 of them, as well as any adults who got in his way.” 

The judge sentenced Rudakubana in his absence after he refused to return to court, having twice been removed for interrupting the hearing. 

Goose said he was not allowed by law to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole as Rudakubana was 17 at the time of his crimes, but added: “It is likely that he will never be released and that he will be in custody for all his life.”
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