
Sentence of Luton triple killer Nicholas Prosper, who murdered his family, referred to Court of Appeal
The sentence of triple murderer Nicholas Prosper, 19, who killed his family and was planning a school shooting in Luton, has been referred to the Court of Appeal.
The referral has been made under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, the Attorney General's Office said.
Prosper pleaded guilty to the murder of his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and his siblings, Kyle Prosper, 16, and 13-year-old Giselle Prosper at Luton Crown Court in February.
Their bodies were found at their flat in the town in September last year.
He was sentenced to 49 years in prison in March.
During sentencing, when explaining why he opted against handing out a whole-life order, the judge said: "A minimum term does not in any way equate to the value of the life of a murder victim, still less three such victims."
The 19-year-old planned to carry out a mass shooting at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, where Prosper and his siblings had been pupils, he admitted to police.
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Glasgow Times
6 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Mum of serial killer nurse hopes 'nightmare' is ending
Glaswegian Colin Campbell, formerly known as Colin Norris, was convicted in 2008 of murdering four elderly women and attempting to murder a fifth while working as a nurse at hospitals in Leeds. But the Court of Appeal has heard that new expert knowledge may mean the former nurse's conviction is unsafe. READ MORE: Two people rushed to hospital after bus mounted the pavement He was accused of injecting the patients with insulin, causing sudden and severe hypoglycaemia. The victims—Doris Ludlam, Bridget Bourke, Irene Crookes, and Ethel Hall—were all patients in orthopaedic wards at Leeds General Infirmary and St James' Hospital in 2002. Vera Wilby, who survived, was the subject of the attempted murder charge. Despite the conviction and a minimum 30-year life sentence handed down after a five-month trial involving 20 expert witnesses, new evidence has prompted the Court of Appeal to re-examine the safety of the verdict. Speaking to STV News, Campbell's mother, June Morrison, reiterated her belief in her son's innocence. She said: 'We have never believed that he is guilty of any of this,' she said. 'We have always believed these women were not murdered. There were other things going on with their health. They had a lot of underlying conditions. 'Whatever decision is made about Colin, it affects the whole of our family. It affects the rest of our lives. If it does not go the way we want it to, we are going to have to start thinking about another campaign because we cannot just stop there. 'We need to keep fighting. I think we can appeal against this appeal, but again, you have to go through the process of having new evidence or new arguments. 'I have not been able to sleep because of the stress. I am not eating properly. He is on my mind constantly. When I do sleep, I wake up thinking about Colin.' The judges – Lady Justice Macur, Sir Stephen Irwin and Mr Justice Picken – will now retire to consider their verdict on whether the evidence that led to Colin's conviction was unsafe. June said: 'It still doesn't feel as if it's real. It is a scary time. We are hopeful as well, but it has been quite frightening at times. You are left feeling, is this finally it? 'Is this nightmare that we have been going through for over 17 years finally ending? It has been going on for longer than that, but Colin has been in prison for 17 years." Colin has been serving life imprisonment at HMP Frankland in County Durham since an investigation concluded that the women in his care developed unexplained severe hypoglycaemia while in hospital. June added: 'A lot of these families they believed that their loved ones died naturally, and then they were told there was a nurse who had murdered them. 'Me as a mother, I know my son is not capable of anything at that. It breaks my heart to think of these families and what they are going through. 'There are no winners. Because at the end of the day, if and when my son gets released, they are going to have to go through the process again, of if my mother wasn't murdered, what are they to believe? I can't think for other families but for myself; no one wins.' 'I do think nurses need better protection in court. Some kind of expert who can represent them in court because they don't have anything at the moment. 'They do have professional bodies, but practising nurses on wards need something more to help, to ensure that no other nurse or family has to go through this again.' READ MORE: Teen charged with 'attempted murder' after boy rushed to hospital While the court was off, June went down to Durham to see Colin in prison. She said: 'I think he is just taking things day by day and hoping. 'What is it they say? Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. This is what we're hoping for. 'I know the trial and a hearing are totally different, but being down in London, sitting on the court benches, it brings it all back. Colin is not there. He is on a TV screen, so it is just a small picture that I can see. 'During the trial, I couldn't see Colin either because there was a screen between us. If I looked up, I could just see him. When you hear from the prosecution experts and they start saying 'my opinion is', it does take you right back. 'I have allowed myself to have thoughts of 'when he gets out, what we could do?' That is all a challenge. I have also had thoughts of 'what if he doesn't get out?' How do we start campaigning again? Who do we get on board? What happens with the legal team? 'All that goes through your mind, but at the moment, I just get through the day. Coming into this, as a family, we had never been in trouble with the police. 'We never had any dealings with courts or anything like that, so it was hard to accept this was what was going to be happening for the next few years.' Campbell has consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintains he never administered insulin to any patient. His first appeal in 2009 was unsuccessful, and he applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) in 2011. In February 2021, the CCRC referred his conviction to the Court of Appeal, citing new medical evidence that presents a "real possibility" that the verdicts are unsafe. The review concluded that natural causes could explain the hypoglycaemia in all four deceased patients, with the possible exception of Ethel Hall. READ MORE: Urgent search launched for missing teen who may have travelled to Birmingham In written submissions, James Curtis KC said the jury in Campbell's trial had the 'exceptional assistance of a meticulous, systematic and detailed summing up' from the judge. He added: 'They were provided with the necessary relevant facts and issues, from a plethora of highly qualified and clinically experienced witnesses. 'The judge carefully summarised and explained these, and accurately directed the jury as to how to approach them.' Michael Mansfield KC told the court on Thursday that Campbell's appeal is a 'straightforward case', and that judges 'must conclude that these convictions are unsafe."


STV News
2 days ago
- STV News
'I believe my son is innocent, is our 17-year nightmare finally over?'
The mum of a serial killer nurse says she hopes her '17-year nightmare' is finally ending after an appeal into her son's murder conviction drew to a close on Friday. Glaswegian Colin Campbell – formerly known as Colin Norris – was convicted in 2008 of murdering four women, and attempting to murder another, by injecting them with insulin at a hospital in Leeds, West Yorkshire. But the Court of Appeal has heard that new expert knowledge may mean the former nurse's conviction is unsafe. June Morrison, Colin's mum, told STV News that she has always believed in her son's innocence. 'We have never believed that he is guilty of any of this,' she said. 'We have always believed these women were not murdered. There were other things going on with their health. They had a lot of underlying conditions. 'Whatever decision is made about Colin, it affects the whole of our family. It affects the rest of our lives. If it does not go the way we want it to, we are going to have to start thinking about another campaign because we cannot just stop there. STV News June Morrison. 'We need to keep fighting. I think we can appeal against this appeal, but again, you have got to go through the process of having new evidence or new arguments. 'I have not been able to sleep because of the stress. I am not eating properly. He is on my mind constantly. When I do sleep, I wake up thinking about Colin.' Norris was convicted of killing Doris Ludlam, 80, Bridget Bourke, 88, Irene Crookes, 79, and 86-year-old Ethel Hall at Leeds General Infirmary and the city's St James' Hospital in 2002. He was also found guilty of attempting to murder 90-year-old Vera Wilby. All the women were elderly inpatients in 2002 on orthopaedic wards where Campbell worked and each developed severe, unexplained hypoglycemia. STV News (Left to right) Ethel Hall, Bridget Bourke, Irene Crookes and Doris Ludlam. Campbell was alleged to have been present when or shortly before each of the patients suffered hypoglycemia and, because of the rarity of such a cluster of cases happening within a short space of time, prosecutors said the nurse must have been responsible. A total of 20 experts gave evidence during a five-month trial at Newcastle Crown Court after which Campbell was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 30 years. The judges – Lady Justice Macur, Sir Stephen Irwin and Mr Justice Picken – will now retire to consider their verdict on whether the evidence that led to Colin's conviction was unsafe. June said: 'It still doesn't feel as if it's real. It is a scary time. We are hopeful as well, but it has been quite frightening at times. You are left feeling is this finally it? 'Is this nightmare that we have been going through for over 17 years finally ending? It has been going on for longer than that, but Colin has been in prison for 17 years. Norris has been serving life imprisonment at HMP Frankland in County Durham since an investigation concluded that the women in his care developed unexplained severe hypoglycaemia while in hospital. 'A lot of these families, they believed that their loved ones died naturally and then they were told there was a nurse that had murdered them,' said June. 'Me as a mother, I know my son is not capable of anything at that. It breaks my heart to think of these families and what they are going through. 'There are no winners. Because at the end of the day, if and when my son gets released, they are going to have to go through the process again of if my mother wasn't murdered, what are they to believe? I can't think for other families but for myself, no one wins.' 'I do think nurses need better protection in court. Some kind of expert that can represent them at a court because they don't have anything at the moment. 'They do have professional bodies but practicing nurses on wards need something more to help, to ensure that no other nurse or family has to go through this again.' While the court was off, June went down to Durham to see Colin in prison. 'I think he is just taking things day by day and hoping,' she said. 'What is it they say? Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. This is what we're hoping for. STV News 'I know the trial and a hearing are totally different, but being down in London, sitting on the court benches, it brings it all back. Colin is not there. He is on a TV screen so it is just a small picture that I can see. 'During the trial, I couldn't see Colin either because there was a screen between us. If I looked up, I could just see him. When you hear from the prosecution experts and they start saying 'my opinion is', it does take you right back. 'I have allowed myself to have thoughts of 'when he gets out, what we could do?' That is all a challenge. I have also had thoughts of 'what if he doesn't get out?' How do we start campaigning again? Who do we get on board? What happens with the legal team? 'All that goes through your mind, but at the moment I just get through the day. Coming into this, as a family, we had never been in trouble with the police. 'We never had any dealings with courts or anything like that, so it was hard to accept this was what was going to be happening for the next few years.' On the final day of Campbell's appeal in London on Friday, judges heard closing submissions from barristers representing the Crown Prosecution Service, who are opposing the appeal. In written submissions, James Curtis KC said the jury in Campbell's trial had the 'exceptional assistance of a meticulous, systematic and detailed summing up' from the judge. He added: 'They were provided with the necessary relevant facts and issues, from a plethora of highly qualified and clinically experienced witnesses. 'The judge carefully summarised and explained these, and accurately directed the jury as to how to approach them.' Michael Mansfield KC told the court on Thursday that Campbell's appeal is a 'straightforward case', and that judges 'must conclude that these convictions are unsafe'. Campbell has denied any wrongdoing and says he did nothing to cause hypoglycemia in any of the patients. He unsuccessfully appealed against his conviction in 2009 and applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2011. His appeal was heard after a review from the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) said new evidence created a 'real possibility' his conviction was unsafe. The CCRC referred his conviction to the Court of Appeal on the basis of new medical evidence in February 2021. It was agreed the new evidence could prove that natural causes may account for the hypoglycaemia in the four patients other than Mrs Hall. Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country


ITV News
2 days ago
- ITV News
Drug dealer who caused Newcastle house blast which killed two people to have sentence reviewed
A drug dealer who caused an explosion which killed two people in Newcastle is to have his sentence reviewed. Reece Galbraith caused the blast at Violet Close in Benwell in the early hours of 16 October 2024 while making cannabis gummy sweets. He and his friend Jason 'Jay' Laws were using a Newcastle flat as a drugs lab when the explosion ripped through the building, killing both laws and seven-year-old Archie York who was sleeping in the flat above. Galbraith, of Rectory Road in Gateshead, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter as well as possessing and supplying cannabis. The Attorney General's Office has confirmed that a request has been received to review Galbraith's sentence under the Unduly Lenient Sentence (ULS) scheme, adding that a decision will be made "in due course." What is the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme? Under the scheme, anyone - including those not involved in the case - can ask for a sentence to be reviewed. The Law Officers will then have 28 days to consider the sentence and refer it to the Court of Appeal if they agree it was unduly lenient. In this scenario, the Court of Appeal will make a final decision on whether a sentence should be increased. The blast at Violet Close destroyed six of the 12 flats in the block. It was followed by a 'fierce fire' that caused such extensive damage to the whole block that it has since been demolished. Police investigating the explosion discovered that the flat operated by Galbraith and Laws was used as a 'drugs lab' to produce cannabis concentrates, known as "shatter" or "butane honey oil," in a highly dangerous process. Galbraith suffered extensive burns and was placed in an induced coma following the blast. Bodyworn from Northumbria Police shows the moment Reece Galbraith is arrested Jailing Galbraith, the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, said: "Archie York was just a seven-year-old with a wonderful and exciting life ahead of him. "His parents have so movingly explained, their world was shattered on October 16 when their flat was blown apart and they woke up buried under the rubble, dazed, bleeding and terrified to realise their precious son had been lost." He went on to say: "Violet Close was a close-knit, multi-racial community with many families that was literally blown apart as a result of your illegal activities in their midst, regardless of the clear risks to others."