Luton killer Nicholas Prosper’s sentence referred to appeal court

The Court of Appeal has been asked to review the sentence of a teenager who killed three members of his family and planned a school shooting.

Nicholas Prosper, 19, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years for murdering his mother, brother and sister in Luton last year.

The bodies of Juliana Falcon, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, were found at their home in the Leabank Court tower block in September.

The government’s solicitor general has referred the case to appeal after multiple referrals including one from a Conservative MP who argued that Prosper should have received a whole life order instead, which would mean he would never be released from jail.

The Attorney General’s Office had received requests to reconsider Prosper’s sentence under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

In March, the Conservative shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan questioned why a whole life order was not imposed in a post on X and said he referred the case to the scheme.

An attorney general office’s spokesperson said: “I can confirm that the solicitor general has referred Nicholas Prosper’s sentence to the Court of Appeal.

“It will be argued that Prosper ought to have been given a whole life order. It is now for the court to decide whether to increase the sentence.”

Whole life orders are considered the harshest penalty available to courts since capital punishment was abolished.

The sentence can be considered in exceptional cases such as those where two or more people have been killed with a significant degree of pre-meditation, or where one child is killed with similar pre-planning.

Previously, an adult under the age of 21 could not be given a whole life order but this changed in 2022.

Offenders aged between 18 and 20 can now receive one when the seriousness of their crimes are “exceptionally high” even when compared to similar offences committed by those 21 and over.

If given a whole life order Prosper would become the youngest person to receive one.

Prosper used a shotgun and a knife in the attack that took place in his home on 13 September.

He had planned to murder his family and then continue the killing at his former primary school in Luton where he would have shot teachers and four-year-old children.

However a loud struggle with his family alerted his neighbours who called police at about 05:30 BST, forcing Prosper to leave his home earlier than planned – long before school opened for the day.

Later that morning Prosper flagged down a police car on nearby Bramingham Road having given up on his scheme.

During sentencing Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said: “Juliana Falcon, Kyle Prosper and Giselle Prosper’s deaths are almost certain to have saved the lives of many children.

“The community owes them its gratitude and their memory should be honoured.”

After the killing Prosper wrote a note, which read: “I was right in predicting no-one would’ve called the police had I killed them in their sleep.”

Prosper had wanted to be known as the world’s most famous school-shooter of the 21st Century, and had designed a black and yellow uniform to wear.

During sentencing, the judge explained she did not issue a whole life order after considering guidance relating to Prosper’s age and lack of previous convictions.

Mitigating, David Bentley KC had also argued his client was living with an undiagnosed neurological development disorder related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

However the judge told Prosper that any condition did not “impair your ability to understand the nature of your conduct, exercise self-control or form rational judgments when you decided to commit violent crimes”.

The judge added: “You remain highly dangerous and it may be you will never be released.”