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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Josh Halliday, Dan Milmo and Vikram Dodd

Police locked in long US legal process to access Southport killer’s online history

Police at the scene of the attack in Southport on 29 July 2024
Police at the scene of the attack in Southport in 2024. The internet history could help answer why the killer targeted a Taylor Swift-themed dance class. Photograph: James Speakman/PA

Police have been unable to see what Axel Rudakubana was searching online before his “sadistic” Southport attack as they are locked in a lengthy US legal process to obtain the data from Google and Microsoft, it can be revealed.

The missing internet history could hold vital clues about why the killer targeted young girls, but it was deleted by Rudakubana 10 minutes before he left home to carry out the “ferocious assault” on a Taylor Swift-themed dance class.

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