Hundreds of people are expected to line the streets of Southport for the funeral of nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar, who was killed in last month’s stabbing attack. Alice died in hospital the day after a knifeman targeted the Taylor Swift-themed dance class she was attending in the Merseyside town on July 29. Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Bebe King, six, also died in the attack.
A local priest said Alice’s mum and dad Alexandra and Sergio told him ahead of today’s service that they want to let their only child ‘dance to heaven’. Father John Heneghan told ITV News : ‘She loved dancing, and that is a beautiful image.’ At a memorial service for Alice earlier this week, her parents entered holding a pair of her ballet shoes.
Speaking to BBC Radio Merseyside, Father Heneghan – who last saw Alice the day before she was killed – said ‘devout Catholics’ Alexandra and Sergio were ‘surrounded by love’. He added: ‘They are wonderful people, and have got a wonderful family around them. ‘They are Portuguese, Madeira, and they have a wonderful support network, they’re very close.
’ To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser that supports HTML5video Axel Rudakubana, who turned 18 on Wednesday, was charged with murder over the deaths of the three girls shortly after the attack. The parents of Bebe King spoke about the loss of their daughter for the first time yesterday. In a statement, Lauren and Ben said: ‘From the pink lights illuminating Sefton and Liverpool, to the pink bows, flowers, balloons, cards, and candles left in her memory, we have been overwhelmed by the kindness and compassion shown to our family.
‘The response from Southport, the whole of Liverpool, and even further afield has deeply touched our hearts, and we are so grateful to everyone who has reached out to us.’ They also revealed their other daughter, Genie, had witnessed the attack and managed to escape. The killings have sparked days of violent unrest across England and Northern Ireland, leading to hundreds of arrests.
Last Tuesday, Elsie Dot Stancombe’s mother Lisa wrote on social media: ‘This is the only thing that I will write, but please please stop the violence in Southport tonight. ‘The police have been nothing but heroic these last 24 hours and they and we don’t need this.’ Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.
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