A British teenager who murdered three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event was jailed for at least 52 years on Thursday, for an atrocity prosecutors said was so violent it appeared he had tried to decapitate one of the victims.

A British teenager on Monday pleaded guilty to charges of murdering three young girls in a knife attack in northern England in July, a crime that horrified the nation and was followed by days of nationwide rioting.

I consider it likely he will never be released,” judge says, adding that Axel Rudakubana must serve a minimum of 52 years in detention for his “extreme violence”.