Southport families break silence in emotional first television interview after stabbing tragedy
The parents of two little girls killed in the Southport stabbings have paid heartfelt tributes to their daughters, in their first television interviews since the horrific attack.
In an interview with ITV’s Good Morning Britain, aired on February 10, the parents of Elsie Stancombe, seven, and six-year-old Bebe King spoke about their memories of the girls who were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year.
The parents of Alice da Silva Aguiar, who was also killed in the attack, said they were not yet ready to speak about the tragic loss of their child.
Bebe’s mother, who was not identified for legal reasons, said she hopes her little girl can still “have an impression on the world” and help to protect other children in the future. She added: “I believe she is going to move mountains regardless.”
Speaking of the family’s final moments with Bebe in Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Bebe’s mother said: “She was in her pyjamas, we read to her and the family visited her. We lay next to her and did our final goodbye. It was a gift and something that we cherish. We read Jack and the Beanstalk with all the accents.”
She noted that it’s important Bebe isn’t defined by what happened to her. “She was a human being. She was a beautiful, funny, crazy, gorgeous girl... I feel like a lioness and I have got to protect my child and I have got to make sure that people know that she isn’t defined by this.”
Speaking in an interview with the Sunday Times, published last weekend, Elsie’s mother, Jenni Stancombe, recalled the moment she heard about what had happened in the Hart Space.
She described how she got a call from a mother of one of the other children at the class who told her "something awful" had happened, and "somebody's stabbed the kids”. Ms Stancombe said she "just ran", noting: "I left the whole house open and got in the car."
Bebe’s mother described receiving the devastating phone call from her husband while shopping in M&S. She said: “I was about to put my card in the machine, and he called. ‘I can’t believe I’m telling you this but somebody has gone into the dance class with a knife.’” She then left the supermarket, jumped into a taxi and “just ran” towards the Hart Space.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Elsie’s mother, Ms Stancombe, said she’d “swap with Elsie any day” and noted, “If we had been there, it wouldn't have happened. I might not be here, but I'd never of let that happen."
Ms Stancombe said she believes it’s her “duty” to continue to write Elsie’s story. “She’s the most loving and caring person, she would want us to do this. She didn’t know bad, she definitely didn’t know evil. We don’t want Elsie to always be linked to that day, she was so much more.”
Last month, the Government announced a public inquiry after 18-year-old Rudakubana was sentenced for murdering the three girls and attempting to murder 10 others, including eight children.
Bebe’s father said the decision to televise the judge’s sentencing remarks had “really hurt”, adding: “We know it has to be heard in court but why did the whole nation need to see it on television?”
After pleading guilty to the attack, it was revealed Rudakubana had been referred to the Government’s Prevent scheme on three occasions.
Jenni Stancombe, 35, said: “If somebody’s made a decision that’s resulted in an element of failure then there needs to be accountability for that and I believe the announcement of the inquiry will do that and it will hold people to account for some of the decisions they’ve made.” She added: “The only thing we wanted from the state is to protect us.”
Elsie’s father, David Stancombe, 36, said: “No-one else should ever go through something like this. If it was that obvious that he’d been flagged up so many times like, what?”
Asked if Rudakubana’s life sentence, with a minimum term of 52 years, brought justice, Mr Stancombe said: “It doesn’t make us feel any better. The number’s massive, don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t change how I feel. If he spends the rest of his life in jail it doesn’t bring back Elsie, does it?”
Ms Stancombe said the family had met singer Swift and her family weeks after the attack at her Wembley show and shown her pictures of Elsie, which she asked to keep. She said: “If Elsie knew that Taylor knew her, it would be like all her dreams had come true.”
Elsie’s parents have set up the charity Elsie’s Story in their daughter’s memory. Ms Stancombe said: “So many times where we have said we’ll never feel true happiness again, ever. We might just feel a little bit of something when we make another child smile, for Elsie.”