Prison Officer Reveals What Axel Rudakubana Threatened to Do to Her if She Refused to Do What He Requested

Axel Rudakubana, the convicted killer who murdered three young girls at a dance class in Southport, is facing further criminal charges following a series of alleged incidents while in custody.

A court heard that Rudakubana allegedly threw boiling water mixed with sugar at a prison officer through the hatch of his cell door at Belmarsh prison. The alleged incident is said to have happened on May 8 last year.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court was told about the allegation during a hearing on Monday. Prosecutors also detailed several other incidents that they say involved Rudakubana and prison officers.

Rudakubana, now 20, is serving a life sentence for murdering nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe. He was also convicted of attempting to murder eight other children and two adults.

The attack happened during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport on July 29, 2024. The deaths of the three girls caused widespread grief across the country and led to tributes being paid to the victims and their families.

The court heard that two days before the alleged boiling-water incident, Rudakubana had also allegedly threatened a female prison officer.

Prosecutor Catherine Pattison told the court that Rudakubana allegedly threatened to “soak” the officer if she did not give him a newspaper. He is then accused of throwing an unknown liquid at her. The court was told that the officer was not injured.

Another alleged incident happened on October 28, 2025. Prosecutors said Rudakubana punched a male prison officer after the officer challenged him while staff were trying to find out whether he had taken certain medication.

The court also heard allegations concerning objects discovered inside Rudakubana’s prison cell. Prosecutors said that in June last year, pieces of stone had allegedly been sharpened inside the prison.

The stone pieces were said to have apparently come from the floor of his cell. They were later allegedly discovered attached to the underside of a shelving unit.

When a prison officer questioned him about the objects, Rudakubana allegedly said that he had been keeping them for self-defence.

The court was also told that following the alleged boiling-water attack, Rudakubana claimed that prison officers had been poisoning his food.

He now faces several charges connected with the alleged incidents. These include attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, two counts of assaulting an emergency worker and possession of an offensive weapon in prison.

The allegations are separate from the crimes for which Rudakubana is already serving a life sentence.

Rudakubana appeared at the hearing by video link from Broadmoor psychiatric hospital. During the hearing, he was seen resting his head on his hand. He was not asked to enter pleas to the charges at this stage.

He was remanded in custody and is due to appear at the Old Bailey on October 19, where the case is expected to continue.

The Ministry of Justice confirmed in July that Rudakubana had been transferred from prison to Broadmoor psychiatric hospital.

Prisoners can be moved to a secure psychiatric hospital when medical professionals decide that they require treatment for a mental disorder and cannot safely or appropriately be managed within an ordinary prison environment.

Broadmoor, located in Berkshire, is one of the UK’s high-security psychiatric hospitals. Patients there are kept in a highly secure environment while receiving specialist mental health treatment.

The hospital has treated a number of well-known offenders during its long history, including Ronnie Kray and Peter Sutcliffe, who became known as the Yorkshire Ripper.

Under the Mental Health Act, prisoners can be transferred to secure hospitals following appropriate medical recommendations and legal procedures. While they are there, they receive treatment and may be required to take part in therapies considered necessary by their clinical team.

Being transferred to a secure hospital does not cancel an existing prison sentence. If medical professionals later decide that hospital treatment is no longer required, the law allows an offender to be transferred back to prison to continue serving their sentence.

The new charges against Rudakubana will now continue through the courts. The allegations concerning the prison officers and the alleged weapon have not yet been determined at trial, and Rudakubana has not entered pleas to them at this stage.