Devastated parents are 'not speaking, only crying' after little girl, 9, killed in Southport stabbing

The heartbroken parents of a nine-year-old girl who was tragically killed in a brutal stabbing in Southport are 'not speaking and only crying', their devastated relatives have said.

Alice Dasilva Aguiar was one of three victims who died after the frenzied knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed holiday club in the Merseyside town on Monday. Bebe King, six, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, were also killed, while five children and the two adults remain in a critical condition in hospital.

Alice's aunt Graca Freitas, whose brother David is her father, said the family are in 'agony' over her death. "We’re constantly calling and David picks up", she said.

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"But he only cries, he doesn’t talk. It’s the same with his wife."

Admitting she still hadn’t come to terms with what had happened, Graca told a local paper in her native Madeira where Alice’s parents migrated to the UK from: "I found out about the scale of the tragedy on Monday from the TV. But I only found out about Alice yesterday morning.

"I began to cry uncontrollably. I’m in agony. I have grandchildren and I watched her grow up.

"I don’t know what will happen next and whether Alice’s body will be brought back here or not. She was born in the UK.

"Her parents have lived there for more than 15 years. It’s difficult to know what they’re going to do because they’re constantly crying and managing to have a conversation with my brother is complicated."

The Quinta Grande village priest Pedro Nobrega said he would be holding a mass in the next few days for Alice and her family. He said in an emotional message on social media: "What we can do at this time is pray that Alice can be a light