A British teenager has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 49 years after he killed his mother and siblings as part of a chilling plan to carry out a mass shooting at his former primary school.
Nicholas Prosper, who was 18 at the time of the murders in September of last year, pleaded guilty to the killings of his mother, 48-year-old Juliana Falcon, and his siblings, 16-year-old Kyle Prosper and 13-year-old Giselle Prosper, during a court appearance at Luton Crown Court in February.
In delivering the sentence, the judge stated that terms like “heartless and brutal” fell short of capturing the horror experienced by the victims in their final moments.
The bodies of the victims were discovered in their flat in September 2022. Prosper, now 19, admitted to planning a mass shooting at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, where he and his siblings had once been students. His ultimate goal was to become “the world’s most famous school shooter of the 21st century.”
Authorities believe the murders occurred after Prosper’s mother confronted him upon discovering a shotgun he had purchased using a forged certificate. His murderous intentions were thwarted when police apprehended him shortly after the killings, finding the loaded shotgun concealed in nearby bushes along with over 30 cartridges.
During the sentencing proceedings, the court heard that Prosper’s planning was “cold, deliberate, and devoid of sympathy or emotion” toward his victims or potential targets. Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb called the details of the case “chilling,” noting Prosper’s desire to surpass notorious U.S. school shootings such as Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech.
Prosecutors revealed that Prosper’s primary motivation was to achieve infamy, with him telling a prison nurse, “I wish I had killed more.” While the judge noted that he did not harbor hatred toward his mother or siblings, she highlighted his intention to kill them in their sleep and sexually assault his sister.
In explaining her decision not to impose a whole-life sentence, the judge acknowledged Prosper’s autism spectrum disorder but concluded that it did not significantly impair his decision-making abilities.
“You intended a murder spree solely to glorify your name among mass killers,” she stated. “You have shown no remorse or sorrow. When asked if you would attempt another massacre if released, you responded, ‘That’s their job to stop me from getting the weapons.’”
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb concluded that Prosper’s ambitions were calculated and chilling, and the true horror of the murders was beyond simple descriptors like “heartless” or “brutal.”
