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A teenager who murdered his family and wanted to be the worst mass killer the UK has seen had 33 cartridges on him to carry out an attack on his former school, a court has heard.

Nicholas Prosper shot his mother Juliana Falcon, 48, sister Giselle, 13, and shot and stabbed his brother Kyle, 16, at their family home in Luton on 13 September last year.

But the 19-year-old did not plan on stopping there, according to prosecutor Timothy Cray KC, who told Luton Crown Court he had prepared the murders “for months” and wanted to kill at least 30 schoolchildren.

“His planning was cold, deliberate and without sympathy or emotion towards the actual victims or potential victims,” Mr Cray said, speaking at Prosper’s sentencing.

His “main wish”, however, was to “achieve lasting notoriety as a mass killer”, Mr Cray added, specifically to “imitate and even surpass other mass killers around the world”.

“He had conducted in-depth internet research on shootings in the United States of America, Norway, Australia and New Zealand,” he said.

“He understood his plans, if realised, would bring about the greatest number of deaths in a school or other mass shooting in the United Kingdom and possibly even in the United States of America.”

Neighbour of Nicholas Prosper: 'He seemed really chill and calm to me'
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Prosper wouldn’t engage with mental health support, the court heard

The investigation suggests that the defendant “acted alone”, he added, and “his plans did not arise from any political or ideological cause”.

Prosper had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the court heard, but he showed an “extreme lack of empathy with others and an extreme lack of remorse” that can’t be explained by ASD alone.

Up until Year 11, the court heard Prosper was a “geeky” and quiet boy with a small group of friends who were into computers, but problems began in sixth form and he wouldn’t engage with mental health support.

‘Extended violent struggle’

Prosper never reached St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School, which was three-quarters of a mile from his home, as police arrested him after he escaped to a wooded area.

After he left, officers broke into his family flat at about 5.50am, following a call from a neighbour.

There, the court heard, they found Prosper’s little sister underneath a dining table in the living room, “as if she had been trying to hide there”.

His mother and brother – who was stabbed more than 100 times – were both found in the hallway.

Giselle Prosper (left), Juliana Prosper (centre), Kyle Prosper (right) found dead in a flat in Luton, Leabank, on Friday 13 September 2024. Pic: family pics issued via Bedfordshire police
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Giselle Prosper (left), Juliana Prosper (centre) and Kyle Prosper. Pic: Family pics issued via Bedfordshire Police

He had planned to kill his family in their sleep, but when his mother realised something was wrong and challenged him, it led to “an extended violent struggle”.

After the horrific and noisy attack on his family members, Prosper knew police would be on their way and so had to leave three hours earlier than he had anticipated.

The teenager was then arrested by a passing police patrol as he walked along a residential road in Luton.

He had hidden the shotgun and cartridges nearby.

Prosper admitted their murders at a hearing last month, as well as purchasing a shotgun without a certificate, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of a kitchen knife in a public place.

Plans long in the making

These killings were planned for more than a year, the court heard, with Prosper managing to buy a shotgun with a fake firearms certificate.

He had put together a black and yellow uniform he wanted to wear for his killing spree, and he had filmed a video of himself holding a plank of wood as a mock gun.

Nicholas Prosper has admitted killing his family
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Nicholas Prosper has admitted killing his family

Read more:
Juliana Prosper ‘will be terribly missed’

‘He didn’t seem like he had anything wrong with him’

Prosper had included his own name, a picture and his real address on his fake firearms licence, the court heard.

He had also inserted the signature of a Bedfordshire Police firearms sergeant on 30 August last year.

On the same day, Prosper messaged a private seller who had advertised a shotgun for £450, offering to pay £600 if cartridges were included, Mr Cray said.

The seller agreed to drop the gun off to him on 12 September, the day before the killings, prompting Prosper to respond in a message: “I look forward to meeting you.”

Forensic examiners found Prosper had fired seven cartridges, the first being a test shot into a teddy bear in his bedroom.

Prosper’s step-by-step plan

A couple of months later, a prison officer found the notes in Prosper’s trainer sole after searching his cell on 13 November.

He had written the planned shooting would be “one of the biggest events ever,” Mr Cray said.

Tributes were left outside Leabank, Luton, as police remained at the scene over the weekend. Pic: PA
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Tributes were left outside the home. Pic: PA

“I was right in predicting no-one would’ve called the police had I killed them in their sleep. 3 shots under 30 seconds,” he had written.

“The only known phone call to police that day was made by the b**** at the door as a result of my B**** mother waking them up and it being turned into a long struggle.

“My plan wasn’t ‘stupid’. I was f****** right. MY MOTHER IS A STUPID F****** COW.”

The notes continued: “But why so early? So I’d have time to cannibalise my family, and rape a woman at knife point before the shooting.”

He had also written a step-by-step plan, detailing he would jump two gates and shoot down a glass door while children were together for “prayer/registration”.

He would then “shout that this is a robbery and for everyone to get down”, before shooting two teachers and killing children at Early Years Foundation Stage – the youngest.

That part of the note finished with: “Go to the next classroom. Kill a couple more. Suicide.”

‘Pain will never heal’

His father, who was also dad to Giselle and Kyle, said part of his soul died when he found out what his son had done.

In a statement read out by Mr Cray, Raymond Prosper said: “The pain of our loss will never be healed. This includes my whole family, our lives will never be the same.

“When I heard the horrific news on that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all.”

Sentence will be passed on Wednesday.

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex – as abuse victim issues warning

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School kids asking for advice on strangulation during sex - as abuse victim issues warning

Schoolchildren are asking teachers how to strangle a partner during sex safely, a charity says, while official figures show an alarming rise in the crime related to domestic abuse cases.

Warning: This article contains references to strangulation, domestic abuse and distressing images.

It comes as a woman whose former partner almost strangled her to death in a rage has advised anyone in an abusive relationship to seek help.

Bernie Ryan, chief executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation, has been running the charity since its inception in 2022 after non-fatal strangulation became a standalone offence.

“It’s the ultimate form of control,” she says.

She says perpetrators and victims are getting younger, while the reason is unclear, but strangulation has seeped into popular culture and social media.

“We hear lots of sex education providers, teachers saying that they’re hearing it in schools.

“We know teachers have been asked, ‘how do I teach somebody to strangle safely?’

“Our message is there is no safe way to strangle – the anatomy is the anatomy. Reduction in oxygen to the brain or blood flow will result in the same medical consequences, regardless of context.”

Bernie Ryan, the Chief Executive of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation
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Bernie Ryan, CEO of the Institute for Addressing Strangulation

A recent review by Conservative peer Baroness Gabby Bertin recommended banning “degrading, violent and misogynistic content” online.

Violent pornography showing women being choked during sex she found was “rife on mainstream platforms”.

Ms Ryan says she “wants to make sure that young people don’t have access to activities that demonstrate that this is normal behaviour”.

Read more from Sky News:
Suspect accused of Derby bank murder appears in court
Man whose body was found in suitcase ‘had raped teenager’

Strangulation is a violent act that is often committed in abusive relationships.

It is the second most common method used by men to kill women, the first is stabbing.

According to statistics shared by the Crown Prosecution Service, in 2024 there was an almost 50% rise in incidents of non-fatal strangulation and suffocation – compared to the year before.

Kerry pleads for other victims of abuse to leave before it's too late
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Kerry Allan pleads for other victims of abuse to seek help

Domestic abuse victim Kerry Allan has a message for anyone who is in an abusive relationship.

Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022. While she said “at the beginning it was really good”, within months he became physically abusive.

In August last year her friends found his profile on a dating app.

“I confronted him and he denied it. I knew we were going to get into a big argument and I couldn’t face it, so I said I was going to my mum’s for a few days and take myself away from the situation.

“I came back a few days later and stupidly I agreed we could try again and everything escalated from that.”

Injuries to Kerry's chest. Pic: CPS
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Injuries to Kerry’s chest. Pic: CPS

In the early hours of 25 August the pair had come in from a night out at a concert and got into an argument.

“He was having a go at me, accusing me of flirting with other people, and I was angry. I told him he had a nerve after what he’d done to me in the week and how he humiliated me.

“I told him that I wanted to leave, that we were done and that I wanted to go to my mum’s and that’s when it got bad.

“He pinned me to the bed and that’s when he first strangled me.”

Kerry's neck injury. Pic: CPS
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Kerry’s neck injury. Pic: CPS

Kerry says this was the first time she’d ever been violently assaulted. Cosgrove was eerily silent as he eventually let go and Kerry gasped for air.

“I remember trying to get my breath back, I was crying and hyperventilating… I was sick on the bedroom floor and I was asking him to go.”

Cosgrove strangled her for a second time before letting go again.

“He was saying I wasn’t getting out of this bedroom alive. I was dead tonight, he hoped that I knew that. Just kept saying how I’d ruined his life.”

Injury to Kerry's eye. Pic: CPS
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Injury to Kerry’s eye. Pic: CPS

“I remember feeling a sort of shock thinking at this point, I’m not going to get out of this bedroom, he’s actually going to kill me.”

Kerry began screaming and shouting for help as loud as she could.

Her neighbours heard the commotion and called the police. While they were en route, Kerry was once again being assaulted.

Bleeding in Kerry's eye
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Bleeding in Kerry’s eye

“I ran over to the bedroom window and tried to jump out, he grabbed me as I went to open the window, and we struggled. And then I was back in the same position, he was on top of me on the bed, and his hands were round the throat again. But this time it didn’t stop.

“I remember trying to struggle and trying to kick out and hit him and I just kept thinking that I definitely was going to die, because at this point, it wasn’t stopping.”

The next memory Kerry has is opening her eyes to see police and paramedics in the bedroom.

Michael Cosgrove. Pic: CPS
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Michael Cosgrove. Pic: CPS

Cosgrove had heard the sirens, jumped out of the bedroom window and went to hide in Kerry’s car.

Kerry remembers opening her eyes to paramedics caring for her: “I remember thinking, I’m alive. I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t believe that I was alive and I wasn’t dead. My last memory is him being on top of me with his hands on my throat.”

Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022
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Kerry met Michael Cosgrove in September 2022

She gives this advice to anyone who is in an abusive relationship: “Please speak to somebody, whether it’s friends, family, a work colleague, whether it’s somebody online, whether it’s a charity that you’re directed to, any sort of abuse is not okay.

“Whether it starts off emotional, they often start off that way, and they escalate, and they can escalate badly.

“Take what happened to me as a huge warning sign, because I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in the position I’ve been in the last eight months.”

Cosgrove was found guilty of attempting to murder Kerry and intentional strangulation.

He will be sentenced in July.

If you suspect you are being abused and need to speak to someone, there are people who can help you.

The National Domestic Violence Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Women’s Aid

Respect, the helpline for male domestic abuse victims: 0808 8010327

Galop, the LGBT+ anti-violence charity: 0800 999 5428

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Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

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Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree

Two men have been found guilty of cutting down the famous Sycamore Gap tree that stood for more than 150 years.

Daniel Graham and Adam Carruthers were convicted of causing more than £620,000 worth of damage to the tree and more than £1,000 worth of damage to Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland.

On 27 September 2023, the pair drove 30 miles through a storm to Northumberland from Cumbria, where they both lived, before felling the tree overnight in a matter of minutes.

An image of the Sycamore Gap standing, which was shown in evidence. This image was taken at approx. 5.20pm on Wednesday 27 September 2023.
Pic: CPS
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The Sycamore Gap tree before it was cut down. Pic: CPS

The pair each denied two counts of criminal damage to the sycamore and to Hadrian’s Wall, which was damaged when the tree fell on it, but were convicted by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court on Friday.

The Sycamore Gap tree sat in a dip in the landscape and held a place in pop culture, featuring in the 1991 Kevin Costner film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.

It also formed part of people’s personal lives, as the scene of wedding proposals, ashes being scattered and countless photographs.

Footage of the moment the tree was felled was played during the trial.

Undated handout photo issued by Northumbria Police of Daniel Graham. Daniel Graham, 39, has been found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court alongside mechanic Adam Carruthers, 32, of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree - valued at £622,000 and £1,114 damage to Hadrian's Wall. Both defendants will be sentenced on July 15. Issue date: Friday May 9, 2025.
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Daniel Graham. Pic: Northumbria Police/PA

Undated handout photo issued by Northumbria Police of Adam Carruthers. Adam Carruthers, 32, has been found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court alongside groundworker Daniel Graham, 39, of criminal damage after the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree - valued at £622,000 and £1,114 damage to Hadrian's Wall. Both defendants will be sentenced on July 15. Issue date: Friday May 9, 2025.
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Adam Carruthers. Pic: Northumbria Police/PA

In the clip, the sound of a chainsaw can be heard, and the silhouette of a person can be seen, before the trunk eventually tumbled.

The footage was shot on Graham’s iPhone 13, with the metadata providing the coordinates of the tree.

Part of tree kept as ‘trophy’

Over the course of the trial, the pair blamed one another, but the prosecution argued they were both responsible for what the court heard was a “mindless act of vandalism”.

As well as the video footage of the felling, an image of a piece of wood and a chainsaw was found on Graham’s phone.

Adam Carruthers and Daniel Graham. Pic: CPS/PA
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Adam Carruthers (R) and Daniel Graham (L) worked together felling trees. Pic: CPS/PA

Chainsaw and chunk of wood never found. Pic: PA
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An image of a piece of wood and a chainsaw was found on Graham’s phone. Pic: PA

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court: “This was perhaps a trophy taken from the scene to remind them of their actions, actions that they appear to have been revelling in.”

Voice notes played in court

The jury was also played voice notes the pair had sent one another, commenting on the media coverage the incident was receiving.

In one of them, Graham, 39, said to 32-year-old Carruthers: “Someone there has tagged like ITV News, BBC News, Sky News, like News News News”, before adding: “I think it’s going to go wild.”

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Sycamore Gap seeds saved

Another piece of evidence was a photo of the defendants felling a different tree, about a month before the Sycamore Gap was cut down.

The prosecution said Graham, who owned a groundworks company and Carruthers, who worked in property management and mechanics, were “friends with knowledge and experience in chainsaws and tree felling”.

From the beginning, much of the trial focused on the significance of the tree, with Judge Mrs Justice Lambert telling the jury to put their “emotion to one side” before proceedings began.

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Voicenotes from Sycamore Gap tree trial

‘Mindless acts of violence’

Northumberland Superintendent Kevin Waring, of Northumbria Police, said: “We often hear references made to mindless acts of vandalism – but that term has never been more relevant than today in describing the actions of those individuals”.

Graham and Carruthers gave no explanation for why they targeted the tree, he said, “and there never could be a justifiable one”.

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, called the felling of the tree “unfathomable” and said, although “there was no remorse [from the defendants], there was compelling evidence, and now there will be justice”.

Gale Gilchrist, chief crown prosecutor for CPS North East, said Graham and Carruthers took “under three minutes” to bring down the “iconic landmark” in a “deliberate and mindless act of destruction”.

She said she hoped the community “can take some measure of comfort in seeing those responsible convicted”.

‘Enormity of the loss’

Reflecting on the verdict and the actions of the pair, Tony Gates, chief executive of Northumberland National Parks Authority, said: “It just took a few days to sink in – I think because of the enormity of the loss.

“We knew how important that location was for many people at an emotional level, almost at a spiritual level in terms of people’s connection to this case.”

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Moment Sycamore Gap tree cut down

Read more from the trial:
Two men went on ‘moronic mission’ to fell Sycamore Gap tree

Man told police he was being ‘framed’ over tree felling
Defendant says friend wanted to cut down world’s ‘most famous tree’
Jurors played voicenotes in Sycamore Gap tree trial

The tree’s stump still sits by Hadrian’s Wall, where new shoots have been emerging.

Its largest remaining section will go on display at the National Landscape Discovery Centre in the Northumberland National Park later this year.

The effort to preserve the tree’s legacy also goes beyond the region where it stood.

Forty-nine saplings taken from the tree have been conserved by the National Trust. They will be planted in accessible public spaces across the country as “trees of hope”, which will allow parts of the Sycamore Gap to live on.

The defendants, who didn’t react when the verdicts were delivered, will be sentenced in July.

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

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Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt art expert pleads guilty following police investigation into terrorist financing

An art dealer who featured on the television show Bargain Hunt has pleaded guilty following a police investigation into terrorist financing.

Oghenochuko “Ochuko” Ojiri, 53, admitted eight counts of failing to make a disclosure during the course of business within the regulated sector, contrary to section 21A of the Terrorism Act 2000.

Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard he sold art to a known Hezbollah financier to a value of about £140,000.

Prosecutor Lyndon Harris said Ojiri sold art to Nazem Ahmad, a suspected financier of Hezbollah.

“At the time of the transactions, Mr Ojiri knew Mr Ahmad had been sanctioned in the US,” Mr Harris told the court.

“Mr Ojiri accessed news reports about Mr Ahmad’s designation and engaged in discussions with others about his designation.”

“There is one discussion where Mr Ojiri is party to a conversation where it is apparent a lot of people have known for years about his terrorism links.”

Ojiri “dealt with Mr Ahmed directly, negotiated the sales of artwork and congratulated him on those sales,” according to Mr Harris.

Each count Ojiri faced related to an individual sale of artworks, which were sent to Dubai, UAE and Beirut.

Read more from Sky News:
Two men found guilty of cutting down famous Sycamore Gap tree
Suspect accused of Derby bank murder appears in court
Man whose body was found in suitcase ‘had raped teenager’

Ojiri, from west London, who has also appeared on the BBC’s Antiques Road Trip, was bailed ahead of his sentencing at the Old Bailey on 6 June.

He was ordered to surrender his passport and not apply for international travel documents.

“He is not a flight risk,” Gavin Irwin, mitigating, told the court.

“The fact that he is here – he has left the UK and has always returned knowing he may be charged with offences – he will be here on the next occasion.”

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