The parents of Alice Aguiar, the nine-year-old Portuguese girl who died in a knife attack in Southport, UK, have published the last photograph taken of their daughter before the fatal attack on July 29.
The image, reproduced by Sky News, shows young Alice next to a cutout of artist Taylor Swift, who was the theme of the dance class the girl was attending when the attack occurred, which also claimed the lives of two other children.
Sérgio and Alexandra, Alice’s parents – who are from Madeira – published the photo as hundreds of people gathered for the girl’s funeral at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in Southport on Sunday.
“You were the child of our dreams, everything was perfect from the moment you arrived. A good girl, with strong values and a gentle nature, an animal lover and a budding environmentalist,” the parents said in a statement read during the funeral service.
Hundreds of people were present at St. Patrick’s Church, both inside and outside the building, later accompanying the vehicle that transported the coffin.
In the July 29 attack, in addition to Alice, six-year-old Bebe King and seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe also died.
Axel Rudakubana, the 18-year-old who carried out the attack, faces three charges of murder and 10 other charges of attempted murder.
