A man described by police officers as ‘truly evil’ has been jailed for life for killing three members of his own family and plotting a school shooting.
Nicholas Prosper, 19, of Leabank Court, Luton, faked a firearms certificate to fraudulently purchase a shotgun, before using it to kill his mum, brother and sister less than 24 hours later on Friday 13 September 2024.
He appeared at Luton Crown Court today (Wednesday) where he received three life sentences for killing Juliana Falcon, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13. He will face a minimum of 49 years in prison.
An investigation launched by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit following the triple murder soon uncovered meticulous plans made by Prosper to carry out a shooting at his former primary school.
Prosper, who viewed a significant amount of violent videos online and was fascinated by mass shooting events, intended to kill more than 30 people as part of his plot to become the world’s most notorious school shooter.
He was stopped from carrying out his plan when his family bravely attempted to fight him off, their efforts alerting a neighbour who called the police. He fled the flat but was arrested shortly before 8am by two officers who noticed him acting suspiciously.
Detective Chief Inspector Sam Khanna said: “Our thoughts today are first and foremost with Juliana, Kyle and Giselle and all who knew and loved them.
“They should be who we remember, their names who we say rather than the person who carried out these despicable murders and who intended to carry out an unimaginable level of harm to innocent school children.
“In my entire policing career, which has included many years spent investigating murders, I have never encountered anyone capable of such horrific acts whilst showing no remorse. I have been utterly shocked and appalled by the actions and plans of the offender in this case and am pleased that this truly evil individual will now be serving a significant proportion of his life behind bars.
“This has been an incredibly difficult and complex investigation, and I would like to thank all the officers and staff involved in achieving this result today.”
Assistant Chief Constable John Murphy said: “Everyone at Bedfordshire Police is utterly shocked and appalled by the sickening actions of this individual and we are pleased he is now facing a significant time in jail.
“This was a lone individual whose plans were fortunately disrupted. I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of his family, the neighbour who called police, our officers who apprehended him, and all who have worked tirelessly to secure the compelling evidence which ensured he was brought to justice.
“I know this does not take away from the sheer horror of the incident and his sickening plans to target school children. I do not underestimate the impact on the staff, parents and carers of pupils at schools across the country, but particularly those associated with St Joseph’s School.
“We have worked closely with the local authority to provide support to schools across Luton and we would urge all staff and parents to make use of the support that Luton Borough Council has put in place.
“We will have community officers out and about around schools in the area in coming days, please do talk to them about any concerns you may have.”
Police and Crime Commissioner John Tizard said: “This was an horrific incident, and my thoughts are with Juliana, Giselle and Kyle and their loved ones.
“I would like to thank all those involved in the response and investigation to bring the person responsible to justice, and I’m relieved he was not able to carry out his chilling plans to target a school.
“One of the particularly concerning aspects of this case is the ease at which he was able to obtain the firearm, and I have written to Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to request an urgent review and strengthening of legislation relating to firearms sales and exchange to make us all safer.”
Cllr Hazel Simmons MBE, Leader of Luton Council, said: “The details that came out in sentencing are deeply distressing, shocking and upsetting for everyone who knew the family, and also for pupils, their families and staff across our wonderful school community. Our thoughts are with all of them at this time.
“We are supporting St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School including the availability of counsellors for any pupil, family member of staff that needs it; as well as standing up wider support in the community for anyone that is distressed by the revelations in court.
“As troubling and concerning as these revelations are, it is important to remember that this individual was not able to cause any harm to the school and there are robust systems in place to keep children safe at school at all times.
“Security at Luton schools is constantly reviewed and monitored and in the last couple of weeks we have asked schools to review their lockdown procedures and school site security; and offered to support any school that feels they would like to carry out additional site security surveys.”
In a family tribute to Juliana, Giselle and Kyle Prosper, the father of the two children, Ray Prosper, said: We are devastated by the loss of our loved ones and are horrified to hear what Nicholas had planned.
“He had completely isolated himself from us over the past year, and we had no knowledge of his intentions.
“We now see the deaths of Juliana, my son Kyle, and daughter Giselle had much more meaning and importance. Their deaths and the fast response of Bedfordshire Police stopped any other family in the community going through pain we have suffered.
“For now, we would ask people to remember Juliana, Kyle, and Giselle for the people they were. Julie was a strong, loving mother to her four children who were her absolute world. In her spare time, she was a keen athlete and enjoyed raising money for charity.
“Kyle was a kind and funny young man who loved football and boxing. He was a big talent with massive potential.
“Giselle was a beautiful soul and caring young girl with an infectious smile. She was also an exceptional pupil at school and was loved dearly by her friends.
“We would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation and for supporting us through this difficult time.
“We would also like to thank the wider community who have been tremendously supportive and generous with donations to help with funeral arrangements.
“We know that this awful incident has affected others as well as ourselves, but we now want to be able to grieve and to try to move on as a family in private.”
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