In 2025, the fathers of two of the three young girls who were slain at a dancing lesson with a Taylor Swift theme ran the London Marathon in their memory.
In an emotional tribute to their departed daughters and a fundraiser for charity, Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe ran the 26.2-mile race on Sunday, April 27.
Aguiar was clearly upset when he crossed the finish line and collapsed on the ground after they finished the race.
After finishing the marathon, Aguiar was seen grinning and clutching a medal while sporting a shirt featuring a picture of his late daughter, 9-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar.
The shirt included details on a GoFundMe campaign to construct a playground at Churchtown Primary School in memory of his daughter, 6-year-old Bebe King, who was also stabbed.
At the conclusion of the race, Stancombe was captured on camera giving a thumbs up. Like Aguiar, he was wearing a white shirt that advertised the Elsie’s Story charitable trust, which was established in memory of his late daughter Elsie Dot Stancombe, who was seven years old.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed his support for the two marathon runners in a video posted before the race.
“David and Sergio, I want to wish you the very best of luck in the London Marathon this weekend,” he stated.
“I know how much it means to you and your families. This is an incredible way to honor the memory of your precious daughters, and the entire nation is in awe of your courage and resilience,” Starmer added. “We’ll all be with you every step of the way. Good luck.”
On July 29, 2024, King, Sergio’s daughter Alice, and David’s daughter Elsie were tragically stabbed at a dance lesson with a Swift theme at The Hart Space community center in Southport, England.
After confessing to his involvement in the fatal assault, 18-year-old Axel Rudakubana was given a life sentence with a minimum of 52 years in prison in January, according to a news release from Merseyside Police.
Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time, injured two adults and eight other children during the incident, including Leanne Lucas, a yoga instructor and event planner.
Judge Julian Goose stated during Rudakubana’s sentence hearing, “There were 26 children at the party, all of them happy and enjoying themselves. He targeted those children for the horrific, extreme violence he was intent upon. It was such extreme violence of the utmost seriousness [that] it was difficult to comprehend.”
Prior to training for the marathon, Sergio had little running experience. He claimed that when he goes for runs, he converses with his late daughter Alice.
“I tell her to keep going with me, that we’re going to do this together, you’re going to be with me — always,” Sergio added. Churchtown Primary School, which Alice attended, was the site of the fundraiser for the new playground. The headteacher of the school, Jinnie Payne, volunteered to run the marathon with Sergio.
According to the publication, Bebe’s parents, Lauren and Ben King, intended to support David and Sergio during the race.
“It is just incredible what they are both doing,” Lauren stated. “And we want to be a part of it every step of the way.”
David informed that some 40 additional family members and friends would be cheering him on from the sidelines, donning sweatshirts and T-shirts with the Elsie’s Story emblem.
“I want to enjoy the day. I want to do it for me and I want to do it for Elsie,” he stated.
According to Jenni Stancombe, his wife, “I know it will be Elsie who’ll be the one to carry him over that finish line.” She expressed her confidence that he would finish the marathon.
Sergio was just as committed to completing the course.
“Twenty-six miles, I’ve never done anything like that before. But for my girl, I would do 26 or 50 — whatever,” he stated. “The pain doesn’t matter. I’m going to do it.”
