Southport killer's brother was afraid he would kill, hearing hears
The sibling of the Seaside town killer testified his family "lost control" of their child and he was concerned his family member would murder a individual of their household, a public inquiry has learned.
The individual, aged 17 at the time, killed three kids at a Taylor Swift-themed dance workshop on July 29, 2024.
The Southport Inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall, learned the sibling he warned a acquaintance there was a danger of his brother "taking action deadly."
The investigation was informed the brother messaged his contact over the Discord messaging app: "Confrontations are scary because of the danger of loss of life."
Dion stated his sibling was similar to the violent character in the movie No Country For Old Men.
Rising Hostility
The inquiry heard Dion was found to have a health issue at the twelve years old which led to him using a wheelchair and his mother and father helping him more.
When asked by the inquiry counsel, attorney, if that affected their bond he said: "Conflict arose that resulted."
Dion concurred his brother seemed to dislike this shift.
He testified the hearing that after the household relocated from their previous home to their new location his sibling's temperament worsened and he would have "aggressive episodes."
Proceedings was informed Dion became "progressively concerned" of his brother, who would hit him regularly.
He said: "I was forced to be wary if I did speak to him because each conflict could escalate into an argument."
'Genuine concerns'
Dion revealed his sibling became much more aggressive after he was dismissed from the educational institution in the local area, in autumn 2019.
Dion went to college in that year and the brothers communicated rarely "as he was unaccustomed to having me around."
The inquiry was informed of a communication the brother wrote to a friend on the platform in which he stated his relative was irritated with him having conversations after dark because of the limited soundproofing in their home.
He further revealed to his contact there was a possibility of "him taking action deadly."
He stated: "Confrontations are scary because of the threat of someone dying."
The lawyer asked: "You held real worries that your relative would fatally harm a individual of your household?"
The brother responded: "In case matters intensified to that point."
The lawyer inquired how his family reacted to the relative's physical conduct.
"There was no point to seek to penalize him," he stated. "Moreover, there was a significant danger in proceeding that way.
"We mentioned there was a general risk to life in general conversation, if you seek to address him... it would not end well."
When the lawyer inquired if his mother and father had lost control of his brother, he concurred.
Questioned regarding his brother resembling a character from the film the Coen brothers film, Dion stated: "It was said that character's intended as a dangerous individual and that's why I used the word there."
He testified the last interaction he had with his sibling was in the 2023 summer.
He stated that their family told the killer to say goodbye to him as he was leaving to see his friends and his sibling hurled an object at him but the door had closed before it made contact.
The hearing proceeds.
