The families of three girls killed in the Southport attack have spoken of continuing their legacies as it approaches a year since their deaths.
Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and six-year-old Bebe King died after Axel Rudakubana launched his knife attack on the Taylor Swift-themed dance class in the town on July 29 last year.
In the days leading up to the first anniversary, their families posted on social media about work being done in the girls’ memories.
Bebe’s Hive, set up by the youngster’s family to support grieving children, referenced Taylor Swift song Bejeweled in an Instagram post which said: “Our girls’ energy will continue to shimmer.”
The caption, which appeared to have been written by Bebe’s mother Lauren, accompanied a video of Bebe dancing and playing with a bubble machine, as well as photos of her.
It said: “It’s time for us to take the space we need. To feel, to breathe, to hold each other close. To just be.
“To be able to create something so purposeful, so needed, has given us a strength we didn’t know we had. A reason. A focus.
“We love and thank every single person who has helped us carry this.
“I feel her with me every day and that feeling is what keeps us going.
“Her light, her care, her spark – it lives on, and we’ll continue it for as long as we can.”
The family thanked relatives and friends as well as the community.
They said: “To Elsie and Alice, we never had the chance to meet you, but we feel like we know you. Your light shines so brightly through your parents, and we’re proud to walk alongside them.”
In a post on the Instagram account of Alice’s WonderDance foundation on Monday, her family said: “We are approaching that date.
“Alice didn’t leave to leave us, but to stay forever.
“She is magic, generosity, love, caring, joy, serenity, purity … Perfection!
“Not a day goes by that we don’t miss her terribly, the weight of pain is getting heavier every day. And so it will be forever. Now we are living with the beautiful memories and thinking about what tomorrow would be like if nothing had happened.”
Her parents thanked followers for their “patience and support” in coming days, and said they needed “space to breathe, reflect and focus on our pure love that only the three of us had”.
The post, accompanied by a picture of Alice in a pale blue dance outfit, said: “We are also thinking a lot about beautiful Elsie and beautiful Bebe, and their families, destiny brought us together for the worst reasons but our connection is pure and lasting, our hearts are in tune and our strength is focused in one direction, Our Girls, by them, for them and always with them.”
They sent “love and strength” to others affected by the attack and ended the post by saying: “Keep Dancing Princess, Mummy and Daddy love you and miss you every day.”
The team behind Elsie’s Story, a charity set up in Elsie’s name to support other children, posted on Instagram over the weekend to say they would be taking some “much-needed time to spend with family and friends”.
Their post said: “We set out with an ambition: to continue Elsie’s legacy, to make a positive difference in her name, to bring hope to other children, and to show that we will not live in fear, but with fun and love. We care for one another, look out for each other, and show up when it matters most. No-one is alone in this.
“Our girls, our town, will not be remembered for the events of that day, but for everything we are building together.”
Sefton Council has asked people not to lay flowers to mark the anniversary of the attack but instead to consider donate to causes, including those set up in the victim’s memories.
A three-minute silence will be held in the town at 3pm on Tuesday.
