Life sentence for teen who killed family and plotted school shooting

A Luton teenager who killed his mother, brother and sister has been jailed for life.

Nicholas Prosper, who had also planned to carry out a school shooting, will serve a minimum of 49 years in prison.

The 19-year-old purchased a gun and ammunition illegally and shot his family in the early hours of 13 September last year. He then left his home armed with the loaded shotgun and additional cartridges intending to shoot a class of school children and their teachers at his former primary school.

By this point, however, Prosper’s plan appears to have gone wrong. It is understood an interruption at home led to the defendant murdering his family earlier than planned. After a neighbour knocked repeatedly on the door, he fled the flat – again earlier than he had intended to, and several hours before the school opened.

After hiding for over two hours, he left the gun and cartridges hidden in bushes and made his way to a nearby road where he was arrested by police.

The Crown Prosecution Service built its case on extensive evidence including internet searches and downloads and plans that Prosper wrote in prison; all of which showed the extent of his plot to become the country’s most notorious school shooter.

Shan Saunders for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Our thoughts today are with those who knew and loved Juliana, Giselle and Kyle.

“Nicholas Prosper’s cold and calculated killing of his mother, brother and sister and the revelation that he planned to shoot a class of school children and their teachers has left his family devastated and an entire community in shock.

“The case presented by the Crown Prosecution Service, supported by a detailed investigation by the police, laid bare the scale of his planning and the extent of his disturbing interest in mass murder.

“The evidence in this case was indisputable and, unable to defend his actions, he admitted to his crimes.

“It is beyond comprehension that a young man would want to kill those closest to him and target innocent young children. His clear lack of empathy and remorse is highly unusual and deeply concerning.

“We recognise the deep distress and anxiety felt by those in the local community upon learning the detail of these chilling crimes.

“Now that the criminal proceedings are concluded we hope that the loved ones of Juliana, Giselle and Kyle can begin to rebuild their lives.”  

Nicholas Prosper pleaded guilty to three counts of murder, one count of purchasing a firearm without a firearm certificate, one count of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, and one count of having an article with a blade at Luton Crown Court on 24 February 2025. 

He was sentenced at the same court on 19 March 2025.