Man who killed his family wanted notoriety from mass school killing, court hears

A 19-year-old man who shot dead his mother and two younger siblings had planned to kill 30 children at a primary school, a court has heard.

- Sammy Gecsoyler

Nicholas Prosper, from Luton, Bedfordshire, had wanted to carry out the killing at his former primary school to gain notoriety as a mass murderer, and had been planning it for months.

Luton crown court heard the details of the plot and how he had murdered his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, brother Kyle Prosper, 16, and sister Giselle Prosper, 13, at the family home in Luton on 13 September last year.

Prosper admitted their murders at an earlier hearing, as well as purchasing a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place.

At Prosper's sentencing yesterday, the court heard how he had also planned to kill 30 early-year pupils and two teachers at St Joseph's Catholic primary school in Luton before killing himself. Prosper said he wanted to outdo the death toll of the Virginia Tech shooting, which remains the deadliest school shooting in the US, leaving 33 dead.

Prosecutor Timothy Cray KC said: "The defendant's main wish was to achieve lasting notoriety as a mass killer. Specifically, he wanted to imitate and even surpass other mass killers around the world."

"He had conducted in-depth internet research on shootings in the United States of America, Norway, Australia and New Zealand."