Southport killer Axel Rudakubana had ricin materials sent to neighbour

WhatsApp messages seen by the BBC reveal how Southport killer Axel Rudakubana had packages sent to a neighbour’s home – one of which contained ingredients to make ricin.

The messages also reveal that his father Alphonse was aware of the deliveries and apologised for them.

In one message seen by the BBC, the father reassured a neighbour who was concerned about the unexplained deliveries that it was “sorted”, adding: “He will use our address next time.”

A neighbour told the BBC the messages raise questions over whether a crucial opportunity to stop Rudakubana’s descent into violence was missed.

The BBC has also established that Rudakubana’s parents did not alert local police to the fact the teenager attempted to travel to his former school a week before the Southport attack, where prosecutors now believe he intended to carry out a mass killing.

Details of both incidents come amid ongoing investigations into why red flags that the teenager was planning to kill went unheeded.

The messages seen by the BBC, which are from January 2022, suggest the neighbour believed the parcels which unexpectedly arrived at their home were for Axel Rudakabana. Neighbours now believe the Southport killer was using separate addresses as a decoy.

It is not known whether his father knew what was contained in the packages.

When asked about the deliveries, Merseyside Police said they would not comment on what was an ongoing investigation.

But investigators have previously revealed that Rudakubana took steps to conceal his online purchases and obsessions. He masked his identity while using online retailers to stockpile weapons – including the knife he would use in the dance class attack – and when pursuing his obsession with extreme graphic material.

After the attack in July 2024, police discovered a substance at Rudakubana’s home in a sealed box. Tests at Porton Down, the government’s biological warfare laboratory, confirmed the substance was ricin, a poison for which there is no antidote.

The search had to be halted because of the danger of the substance, though the court heard there was no evidence it had ever been used.

When the search resumed detectives found a plastic bag containing a variety of seed that is used to produce the poison. The package had been bought under the fake name of “Al Rud” and delivered to a neighbour’s address.

Caroline, a former neighbour of Rudakubana’s in Banks, Lancashire, told the BBC: “He was clearly ordering seeds and having them delivered to a neighbour, possibly a decoy, so that it couldn’t be traced to the address that he was living at.”

Alphonse Rudakubana told neighbours in a WhatsApp group that he would have the address amended so it would not happen again.

He wrote: “It’s sorted now. These were the last orders, I am told. He will use our address next time. Thanks.”

Caroline said she witnessed social workers and police visiting the family about six weeks before the attack. She said she believes neighbours should have been alerted to concerns about Rudakubana.

She also told the BBC her cat needed to be put down after straying into the police forensic tent during the search and began “convulsing and foaming at the mouth”.

She believes it came into contact with the ricin. While no toxicology test was carried out on the cat, vets told Caroline they believe the cat had suffered from poisoning

By the time the packages were delivered to neighbours, Rudakubana had already been researching mass murder and genocide online. He was referred to the anti-extremism programme Prevent on three separate occasions between 2019 and 2021 over his interest in school shootings and extreme violence.

A week before he killed three children, Rudakubana attempted to take a taxi to the Range High School in Formby, where he had been expelled from five years earlier for attacking a pupil with a hockey stick and repeatedly taking a knife into class.

Video from the 22 July incident shows him carrying a backpack and wearing the same hooded jumper and surgical mask he would later wear during the attack on the dance class.

On that occasion, his father intervened and pleaded with the taxi driver not to take him. His son got out of the taxi and went back inside their home.

But despite concerns over his son’s movements, the BBC has established his father did not call local police.

It is not known how much he knew of his son’s intentions that day and the BBC has been unable to speak to Rudakubana’s parents, who are believed to be living in a safe house.

Asked about the incident, a spokesman for Lancashire Constabulary, in whose area the Rudakubana family lived, said: “This wasn’t reported to Lancashire Police”. Merseyside Police, who are still carrying out an investigation, said they could not comment.

The BBC has not established whether the 22 July incident was referred to social care staff.

Investigators have previously revealed that Rudakubana’s parents did call the police on earlier occasions as they sought help to deal with their son’s violent and erratic behaviour.

Between the ages of 13 and 17, Rudakubana – who was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder – became detached and reclusive. He was known to the police, the youth justice system and mental health services. His parents had also been offered social care help to deal with their son.

Pictures taken by police after his arrest following the dance class attack reveal a scene of chaos inside their family home.

One image shows a cluttered living room, which police believe Rudakubana had been using as his bedroom. Knives, arrows and chemical equipment were found inside the house, with Amazon boxes stacked in the middle of the room.

On four separate occasions, his parents resorted to calling the police as they struggled to cope with their son’s behaviour.

The first 999 call was in November 2021 after Rudakubana became “disruptive” when a stranger came to their door.

A few weeks later police were called again after Rudakubana attacked his father and damaged his car during an argument.

There was a serious incident in March 2022 when Rudakubana’s mother reported him missing. He was located after a bus driver called 999 to report a teenage passenger was refusing to pay.

When police arrived, they found Rudakubana and discovered he was carrying a kitchen knife. On that occasion, his parents were given advice on securing knives inside the home – but Rudakubana was not charged with a criminal offence.

The final call came in May 2022, when his father reported that an argument had broken out after his son was denied access to a computer.

During a briefing earlier this week, investigators were asked whether they were satisfied his parents had secured the knives inside the home. The officers would not be drawn on that but did say that when the house was searched, the weapons stored under the teenager’s bed which included a machete were clearly visible.

The Rudakubana family have not been seen by neighbours in Banks since the attack.