On Monday, Axel Rudakubana, 18, admitted carrying out the killings last July in the town of Southport, a crime which was followed by days of rioting across the United Kingdom.
Rudakubana will likely spend the rest of his life in jail for the murders of Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, nine, who were among 26 children attending the summer holiday event.
He also pleaded guilty to 10 charges of attempted murder as well as to producing the deadly poison ricin and possessing an al-Qaeda training manual.
The prosecutor says Axel Rudakubana looked up information about the stabbing of a Sydney bishop. (AP PHOTO)
Two of his victims suffered "horrific injuries which ... are difficult to explain as anything other than sadistic in nature," prosecutor Deanna Heer told Liverpool Crown Court.
She said that Rudakubana, about 40 minutes before the attack, had searched online for information about a stabbing at a western Sydney church that occurred in April.
Judge Julian Goose described Rudakubana's actions as "evil," saying: "I am sure that Rudakubana had a settled and determined intention to carry out these offences and that, had he been able to, he would have killed each and every child, all 26 of them, as well as any adults who got in his way."
The judge sentenced Rudakubana in his absence after he refused to return to court, having twice been removed for interrupting the hearing.
Goose said he was not allowed by law to impose a life sentence without the possibility of parole as Rudakubana was 17 at the time of his crimes but added: "It is likely that he will never be released and that he will be in custody for all his life."
The attack has prompted the UK government to announce a public inquiry as Rudakubana had been referred three times to a counter-radicalisation scheme but no action was taken.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said the attack could show that the UK faces a new type of terrorism threat waged by "loners, misfits, young men in their bedrooms" committing extreme violence.
"I'm glad those kids are dead, it makes me happy," Rudakubana told police after the attack, Heer said.
The prosecutor also said the al-Qaeda training manual contained advice on killing with a knife but that Rudakubana was not inspired by any political or religious ideology.
"His only purpose was to kill and he targeted the youngest, most vulnerable in order to spread the greatest level of fear and outrage," she said.
Rudakubana was deemed to be mentally fit to face prosecution.
Heer said two of the girls suffered at least 85 and 122 sharp force injuries, which Rudakubana inflicted with a 20cm-long knife he had bought online from Amazon.
She described a scene of horror, with the court shown video footage of screaming young girls fleeing the building.
One bloodied girl was seen collapsing outside, provoking gasps and sobs from the public gallery.
Images and documents found on a computer at his home showed "he had a long-standing obsession with violence, killing and genocide," Heer said.
In 2019 Rudakubana had contacted a helpline for children, the prosecutor said, and asked: "What should I do if I want to kill somebody?"
Soon after, he was expelled from school after admitting taking a knife there 10 times and was later arrested with a knife in his backpack after returning to the school and attacking a pupil with a hockey stick, Heer said.
He was referred to the counter-radicalisation scheme Prevent after researching school shootings, uploading images of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Instagram and researching a terrorism attack in London.
The prosecutor said Rudakubana looked up information on social media about the stabbing of Sydney Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on the day of the Southport attack.
"At 11.04am he used his Lenovo tablet to carry out a search on X, that's Twitter, for 'mar mari emmanuel stabbing," she said.
"The same search term was entered by a police officer during the course of this investigation, he found that it led to posts containing actual footage of the stabbing of Bishop Emmanuel and five others during a sermon at a church in Sydney in April the same year."
The Southport attack started about 11.40am.
Shortly after the start of his sentencing hearing on Thursday, Rudakubana was removed from the dock after repeatedly shouting that he was unwell and wanted to see a paramedic.
Someone shouted "coward" as he left.
with PA
