Southport Killer’s parents 'hid knives from him' and his brother feared he would kill a family member
Dion Rudakubana described violent outbursts from his younger brother during the inquiry
The brother of the Southport killer has told a public inquiry they had to "hide knives" from Alex Rudakubana as his behaviour remained “unpredictable and inconsistent”.
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Giving evidence to the Southport Inquiry on Tuesday, Dion Rudakubana said his brother Axel reminded him of the sociopathic murderer in film No Country For Old Men.
Rudakubana was 17 when he murdered Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, Bebe King, six, and Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class on July 29 last year.
Dion, two years older than his brother, described violent outbursts from his younger brother, which he said used to take place when they were in the car on the way to school together.
The outbursts got worse when Rudakubana was expelled in October 2019, Dion said.
He told the inquiry: “There had been various events where we had to call the police out where indications were there.
“The fights are scary because of the danger of someone dying. My brother doesn’t really show mercy, so my dad just has to try not to die.
“We hide knives to mitigate that factor I had to be cautious if I did speak to him because any disagreement could escalate into an argument.”
Read More: Southport killer's brother tells inquiry his parents 'lost control' of Axel Rudakubana
Dion also described plates and glasses being smashed by his brother in the home.
The inquiry was shown messages Dion sent to a friend when he returned home during his first year of university in December 2022.
In the messages, Dion spoke about his brother and said: “The risk of him doing something potentially fatal is the major concern.”
Richard Boyle, counsel to the inquiry, asked: “You had serious fears that your brother would kill a member of your family?”
Dion replied: “If things escalated to that point.”
Dion said he thought the fear existed before Christmas 2022 and recalled "being scared" going to university.
He said he could not remember being asked whether Rudakubana was violent by social services or the police.
Asked if he thought to tell anyone, he replied: “No because it had been brewing, it’s not something that just appeared.”
Asked how his parents responded to his violence, Dion said: “It didn’t make sense to try and punish and also there was a heavy risk of doing so.
"He didn’t trust anyone and he needed support.”
He agreed his parents had “lost control” of his brother from 2019 onwards.
Dion told the inquiry that he had watched the film No Country For Old Men recently and the main character Anton Chigurh, a sociopathic hitman played by Javier Bardem who kills more than 10 people, reminded him of his brother.
“That’s why it concerned me,” he said. “I felt the threat to be within the home. Even then nothing had ever come of it.”
Dio said his brother “dominated the living room” of the family home from 2021 so he did not spend time in there.
He said: “I was told by my parents to be careful.”
His last interaction with his brother was in summer 2023 when his parents asked the younger sibling to say goodbye and he responded by throwing a metal bottle at him, he said.
He added: “I think they closed the door before the bottle got to me.“It was not very significant in itself other than it being the last interaction.”
This behaviour was consistent with the other behaviour Rudakubana was showing at the time, Dion said.
Rudakubana’s parents Alphonse Rudakubana and Laetitia Muzayire are due to give evidence to the inquiry later in the week.
Reporting restrictions prevent publication of any details which may identify where the family currently lives.
Rudakubana’s father, Alphonse Rudakubana, is due to give evidence later on Wednesday.