The mother of one of the three young girls who were tragically killed in the Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Southport, Merseyside on 29 July has spoken to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, stating that she will “never feel true happiness again”. Jenni Stancombe’s seven-year-old daughter, Elsie Dot Stancombe was laid to rest after the murders, which were committed by 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana from Banks in Lancashire. The other girls who lost their lives in the attack were nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar and six-year-old Bebe King. The killer was recently handed a minimum sentence of 52 years imprisonment for their murders. The girls’ parents have started fundraising through the ‘Elsie’s Story’ charity in order to help support children in need.
Mrs Stancombe remarked that her daughter was a fearless and dedicated Taylor Swift fan who shouldn’t have had her life taken so cruelly, she also described her child as very brave. Mrs Stancombe and her husband David have set up the charity, not only to keep Elsie’s memory alive, but also to provide much-needed support for other children who are in need. She said, “We feel like it’s our duty as her mum and dad to continue writing Elsie’s story for her. So many times we’ve said: ‘We’ll never feel true happiness again, ever’. We might just feel a little something else when we make another little girl smile, for Elsie. We want to do her proud”.
Mr Stancombe called on the public inquiry which will take place to fully scrutinise the anti-terror scheme Prevent, which Rudakubana managed to slip through, despite being flagged repeatedly. He commented, “The fact that he’s been flagged up so many times and because he didn’t meet the criteria of certain things… It just doesn’t work like that, does it?” The Stancombes have not permitted their grief to quell their resolve; they repeatedly speak of ensuring other children are protected from similar fate.
The parents of Bebe King, who also died in the attack, remain understandably devastated by their loss, and they expressed their apprehensions about the televising of sentencing hearings. Her father said: “It didn’t have to be televised at all. You know, that’s what’s really hurt us”. However, their concern for their daughter’s legacy is palpable, they too have pledged their support of Elsie’s Story, “I really, really hope that in spirit, she can still have an impression on the world”. Of Alice da Silva Aguiar’s parents, who have declined to speak publicly, Mrs Stancombe said “They have chosen not to speak publicly but support the other families”.
The loss of the three young girls is so great that it is really impossible for words to adequately convey the depth of pain that the families must be experiencing. But in the case of Elsie’s Story and the Soutport attacks, the families are united in the knowledge that they can create something good from a terrible happening
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