Latest news with #GiselleProsper
Glasgow Times
4 days ago
- Glasgow Times
Triple murderer will not be given whole-life order, Court of Appeal rules
Prosper was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years in March after he murdered 48-year-old Julianna Falcon, 13-year-old Giselle Prosper and 16-year-old Kyle Prosper at their family flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, on September 13 2023. The 19-year-old was also sentenced for weapons offences, having plotted a mass shooting at his former primary school. The Solicitor General referred Prosper's sentence to the Court of Appeal in April, with barristers telling a hearing in London that a whole-life term was a 'just punishment' for the 'exceptional' crimes. Barristers for Prosper, who is due to be released in his late 60s at the earliest, said the sentence 'cannot be said to be unduly lenient'. In a ruling, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Wall, said that Prosper's sentence was 'itself a very severe sentence for a 19-year-old'. She said: 'These were undoubtedly offences of the utmost gravity, with multiple features incorporating disturbing, recurrent themes around school shootings.' She continued: 'Had the offender been 21 or over at the time of the offending, a whole-life order would undoubtedly have been made.' She added that the sentencing judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, was right to conclude that the 'enhanced exceptionality test' of whether to pass a whole-life term on an 18-to-20-year-old was 'not met on the facts'. She said: 'Parliament chose to set what is already a very high threshold for a whole-life order for an adult, even higher for a young offender.' She concluded: 'Appalling though these crimes were, we are not persuaded that anything less than a whole-life order was unduly lenient.' (From left) Giselle Prosper, 13, Juliana Falcon, 48, and 16-year-old Kyle Prosper (Bedfordshire Police/PA) Prosper, who would have become the first person aged under 21 to be given a whole-life order if his sentence was increased, watched proceedings via a video link from HMP Belmarsh. Whole-life orders are reserved for the most serious offences, with those handed the tariffs including Louis De Zoysa, who murdered Metropolitan Police Sergeant Matt Ratana in 2020, and Kyle Clifford, who murdered his ex-partner Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt and mother Carol Hunt last year. Rules were changed in 2022 to allow younger defendants aged 18 to 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances, but no one in that age bracket has received the sentence since. Reading out the judgment, Baroness Carr said that Prosper was 'deeply fascinated by notorious murders' and had 'started to plan emulating and indeed outdoing' the Sandy Hook school shooting in the United States. The day before the killings, Prosper obtained a shotgun and 100 cartridges from a legitimate firearms dealer through a 'meticulously forged' gun licence, and planned to kill 34 people at a school, including 30 children. He shot his mother in the early hours of September 13, placing a book named How To Kill Your Family on her legs, before shooting his sister. Nicholas Prosper holding a plank of wood as a mock gun (Bedfordshire Police/PA) Prosper then killed his brother, shooting him twice and stabbing him more than 100 times. Prosper hid for more than two hours before flagging down police officers in a nearby street and showing them where he had hidden a loaded shotgun and 33 cartridges near playing fields. Following his arrest, he was 'cheerful' and told police that he wished he had killed more people, Baroness Carr said. Sentencing him at Luton Crown Court in March, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said that a whole-life term could only be given to someone in that age bracket if a court deemed 'that the seriousness of the combination of offences is exceptionally high'. But she said that while Prosper was 'indisputably a very dangerous young man', the risk to the public was met with a life sentence. The judge noted that both prosecution and defence barristers said that a whole-life term should not be imposed, and that he had not carried out the school shooting. Tom Little KC, appearing for the Solicitor General on Wednesday, said in written submissions: 'The age of the offender and his guilty pleas, although relevant to the ultimate decision, did not inexorably lead to or mean that this was a case in which a whole-life order was not appropriate.' David Bentley KC, for Prosper, said: 'The reality is that with the existing sentence, the earliest date he could actually be considered for parole is in his late 60s, and the dangerousness is covered by the life sentence.' Following the ruling, the Solicitor General, Lucy Rigby, said: 'Nicholas Prosper's brutal murder of his family and plans to attack school children and teachers shocked the whole nation. 'Given the nature and scale of the intended attack, I received several requests under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme to consider his sentence. 'Following careful consideration, I concluded that Prosper's sentence should be referred to the Court of Appeal as it appeared unduly lenient. 'I respect the Court of Appeal's decision. 'My thoughts and deepest sympathies today are with Juliana, Giselle, and Kyle's loved ones, and everyone impacted by Prosper's crimes.'
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Yahoo
Nicholas Prosper: Teenager who murdered his family will not be given whole-life order after appeal dismissed
A teenage killer who admitted murdering his mother and two siblings will not have his sentence increased to a whole life term, the Court of Appeal has decided. Nicholas Prosper, 19, avoids being the first person aged 18 and 20 to be given a whole-life tariff, after rules were changed in 2022 to allow younger defendants aged 18 to 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances. No one in that age bracket has ever received that sentence. Prosper was jailed in March for a minimum term of 49 years, less 188 days already spent in custody, after admitting killing his mother, Juliana Falcon, 48, and siblings Giselle Prosper, 13, and Kyle Prosper, 16, at their family flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, on 13 September 2023. He also admitted weapons charges after plotting a mass shooting at his former primary school in the town. In a two-day sentencing hearing in April, Mrs Justice Chema-Grub had said she would not impose a whole-life order because Prosper was stopped from carrying out the school shooting. The judge had said a whole-life term could only be given to an 18 to 20-year-old if a court deemed "that the seriousness of the combination of offences is exceptionally high". She continued that while he was "indisputably a very dangerous young man", the risk to the public was met with a life sentence. The Solicitor General referred his sentence to the Court of Appeal as "unduly lenient". At Wednesday's Court of Appeal hearing Mr Little KC said the case "crosses the exceptionally high seriousness test," because two of Prosper's three victims were children, and that all three were murdered one after another knowing they were being killed by their relative. Mr Little KC also said Prosper had intended to rape his sister Giselle and that his brother Kyle had pleaded with Prosper not to take his life. Read more: This was, Mr Little said, the "precursor to the long held intention" to kill primary school children aged four and five with the use of a firearm, an act the lawyer said was designed to get international notoriety and for others to match it and surpass it. "The seriousness of the case passed the enhanced exceptionality requirement and just punishment required the imposition of a whole life order here. "The Judge placed too much weight on what the offender did not do, rather on than what he did do and intended to do and what the ramification of this intended escalating level of mass killing would have been." Mr David Bentley KC, representing Prosper, told the Court that the minimum term means Prosper will not be released after 49 years but be eligible for parole. "A life sentence is a life sentence," said Mr Bentley KC, explaining that when Prosper is eligible for parole "he would be a pensioner." Mr Bentley KC said Prosper's mass killing plans were not "thwarted," but rather that the teenager had chosen himself not to carry on with the plot, explaining that Prosper had had come out of the home after killing his family and dumped the bag containing the firearm when he realised the school shooting plan was, he quoted Prosper, "no longer a runner". "It was his decision to stop. He stepped out on to the road and waved down a police car. "That perhaps indicates that despite the horrors that had taken place in the flat, something had clearly changed in his mind and nothing further was going to happen. He had voluntarily separated himself from the weapons." The Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Wall, said that Prosper's sentence was "itself a very severe sentence for a 19-year-old". She said: "These were undoubtedly offences of the utmost gravity, with multiple features incorporating disturbing, recurrent themes around school shootings." She continued: "Had the offender been 21 or over at the time of the offending, a whole-life order would undoubtedly have been made." She added that the sentencing judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, was right to conclude that the "enhanced exceptionality test" of whether to pass a whole-life term on an 18-to-20-year-old was "not met on the facts". She said: "Parliament chose to set what is already a very high threshold for a whole-life order for an adult, even higher for a young offender." She concluded: "Appalling though these crimes were, we are not persuaded that anything less than a whole-life order was unduly lenient." Prosper watched proceedings via a video link from HMP Belmarsh. Whole-life orders are reserved for the most serious offences, with those handed the tariffs including Louis De Zoysa, who murdered Metropolitan Police Sergeant Matt Ratana in 2020, and Kyle Clifford, who murdered his ex-partner Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt and mother Carol Hunt last year.
Western Telegraph
4 days ago
- Western Telegraph
Triple murderer will not be given whole-life order, Court of Appeal rules
Prosper was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years in March after he murdered 48-year-old Julianna Falcon, 13-year-old Giselle Prosper and 16-year-old Kyle Prosper at their family flat in Luton, Bedfordshire, on September 13 2023. The 19-year-old was also sentenced for weapons offences, having plotted a mass shooting at his former primary school. The Solicitor General referred Prosper's sentence to the Court of Appeal in April, with barristers telling a hearing in London that a whole-life term was a 'just punishment' for the 'exceptional' crimes. Barristers for Prosper, who is due to be released in his late 60s at the earliest, said the sentence 'cannot be said to be unduly lenient'. In a ruling, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Mr Justice Wall, said that Prosper's sentence was 'itself a very severe sentence for a 19-year-old'. She said: 'These were undoubtedly offences of the utmost gravity, with multiple features incorporating disturbing, recurrent themes around school shootings.' She continued: 'Had the offender been 21 or over at the time of the offending, a whole-life order would undoubtedly have been made.' She added that the sentencing judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb, was right to conclude that the 'enhanced exceptionality test' of whether to pass a whole-life term on an 18-to-20-year-old was 'not met on the facts'. She said: 'Parliament chose to set what is already a very high threshold for a whole-life order for an adult, even higher for a young offender.' She concluded: 'Appalling though these crimes were, we are not persuaded that anything less than a whole-life order was unduly lenient.' (From left) Giselle Prosper, 13, Juliana Falcon, 48, and 16-year-old Kyle Prosper (Bedfordshire Police/PA) Prosper watched proceedings via a video link from HMP Belmarsh. Whole-life orders are reserved for the most serious offences, with those handed the tariffs including Louis De Zoysa, who murdered Metropolitan Police Sergeant Matt Ratana in 2020, and Kyle Clifford, who murdered his ex-partner Louise Hunt, her sister Hannah Hunt and mother Carol Hunt last year. Rules were changed in 2022 to allow younger defendants aged 18 to 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances, but no one in that age bracket has received the sentence since. Reading out the judgment, Baroness Carr said that Prosper was 'deeply fascinated by notorious murders' and had 'started to plan emulating and indeed outdoing' the Sandy Hook school shooting in the United States. The day before the killings, Prosper obtained a shotgun and 100 cartridges from a legitimate firearms dealer through a 'meticulously forged' gun licence, and planned to kill 34 people at a school, including 30 children. He shot his mother in the early hours of September 13, placing a book named How To Kill Your Family on her legs, before shooting his sister. Nicholas Prosper holding a plank of wood as a mock gun (Bedfordshire Police/PA) Prosper then killed his brother, shooting him twice and stabbing him more than 100 times. Prosper hid for more than two hours before flagging down police officers in a nearby street and showing them where he had hidden a loaded shotgun and 33 cartridges near playing fields. Following his arrest, he was 'cheerful' and told police that he wished he had killed more people, Baroness Carr said. Sentencing him at Luton Crown Court in March, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said that a whole-life term could only be given to someone in that age bracket if a court deemed 'that the seriousness of the combination of offences is exceptionally high'. But she said that while Prosper was 'indisputably a very dangerous young man', the risk to the public was met with a life sentence. The judge noted that both prosecution and defence barristers said that a whole-life term should not be imposed, and that he had not carried out the school shooting.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
Nicholas Prosper sentence appeal to be heard in July
A bid to have the sentence of triple murderer Nicholas Prosper increased to a whole-life order is due to be heard on 16 was jailed for life with a minimum term of 49 years after admitting killing his mother, brother and sister at their home in Luton on 13 September 19-year-old also pleaded guilty to weapons charges after plotting a mass shooting at his former primary school in the General Lucy Rigby KC referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal in April, branding it "unduly lenient". A spokesperson for the Attorney General's Office said at the time that Prosper "ought to have been given a whole-life order".Whole life orders are considered the harshest penalty available to courts since capital punishment was abolished. Prosper gunned down his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, and sister Giselle Prosper, 13, before stabbing his 16-year-old brother Kyle more than 100 then hid for more than two hours before flagging down police officers in a nearby street, showing them his loaded shotgun and 33 sentencing in March heard he wanted to go on and "be known posthumously as the world's most famous school shooter of the 21st Century".Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb told Luton Crown Court: "The lives of your own mother, and younger brother and sister were to be collateral damage on the way to fulfil your ambition."Prosper's plan would have led to the deaths of 34 people in total: his family, two teachers, four-year-old pupils at his old school and then, finally, it was derailed when noise made by his family as they were being killed alerted neighbours in their tower block in the Marsh Farm area of Luton. While sentencing, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said she would not impose a whole-life order because Prosper was stopped from carrying out the school he was "indisputably a very dangerous young man", the risk to the public was met with a life sentence, she were changed in 2022 to allow defendants aged between 18 and 20 to receive whole-life orders in exceptional circumstances, but no one in that age bracket has received the sentence since judge said in March the threshold remained "exceptionally high"."Despite the gravity of your crimes, it is the explicit joint submission of counsel that a lengthy, finite term will be a sufficiently severe penalty," she added."This is not such an exceptionally serious case of the utmost gravity where the sentence of last resort must be imposed on an offender who was 18 at the time and is 19 today."The case was referred to the Attorney General's Office by the shadow justice minister Kieran Mullan, who said the killings were "the most serious of crimes". Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
