Teen jailed for life for murdering family, planning school attack

A UK teenager who killed three family members and planned to carry out a school massacre was sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday, with a minimum term of 49 years.

Nicholas Prosper, 18 at the time of the attack, used a shotgun to kill his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, sister, Giselle, 13, and brother, Kyle, 16, at their home in Luton in September 2024. His brother also suffered more than 100 knife wounds.

Sentencing Prosper, now 19, Judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said, "Your ambition was notoriety. You wanted to be known posthumously as the world's most famous school shooter of the 21st century."

Upon his arrest, Prosper told police he had planned a mass shooting at a nearby primary school, targeting young pupils and teachers before killing himself.

He said he intended to surpass the US Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech massacres but was interrupted when his mother woke up before he could carry out the attack.

A struggle ensued, drawing the attention of neighbours, who alerted the police. After killing his mother, he placed a novel titled How to Kill Your Family on her body.

The judge said Prosper "explicitly sought to emulate and outdo Adam Lanza," who killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012.

"You aimed for 34 deaths, one more than the deadliest school shooting of recent times in the United States of America, at Virginia Tech in 2007," she added.

Prosper had drawn diagrams of classrooms at Luton's St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, writing "kill all" next to them. "You filmed yourself acting out the killing in the kitchen," the judge noted.

'Utterly shocked'

Experts said Prosper showed symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 49 years, meaning he will serve at least 48 years and 177 days, considering time already spent in custody.

"You remain highly dangerous, and it may be you will never be released," the judge said. She also noted that Prosper, who refused to leave his cell for the hearing, had shown no remorse.

The court was told that after being asked to leave school in 2023, Prosper had little contact with others and spent most of his time online.

His internet activity revealed a deep interest in "notorious murderers, perpetrators of mass school shootings around the world and rapists," the judge said.

In a statement read in court, Ray Prosper, the perpetrator’s father, said, "The pain of our loss will never be healed. When I heard the horrendous news that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all, and we have lost four family members."

Bedfordshire Police assistant chief constable John Murphy said the force was "utterly shocked and appalled by the sickening actions of this individual."

(With inputs from AFP)