LONDON (Reuters) – A British teenager is due to go on trial in January accused of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.
Axel Rudakubana, 18, is charged with killing the girls aged between six and nine who were at a Taylor Swift dance event in Southport, as well as 10 other counts of attempted murder.
He is also facing charges of producing the deadly poison ricin and the possession of an al Qaeda training manual.
Holding his grey sweatshirt over the bottom of his face – as he has done at previous hearings – the teenager did not speak when asked to confirm his name when he appeared by videolink from London’s Belmarsh prison for the hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.
A further hearing will be held on Dec. 12 where he is due to enter a plea to the accusations. He was told his trial was listed to begin on Jan. 20 next year and would last between four and six weeks.
(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Kate Holton)
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