Nicholas Prosper, a 19-year-old who confessed to murdering his mother and two siblings, will not have his sentence upgraded to a whole-life order, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
In March, Prosper was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 49 years, minus 188 days already served, for the brutal killings of his mother, Juliana Falcon (48), his sister Giselle (13), and his brother Kyle (16) at their Luton home on 13 September 2023. He also admitted to plotting a mass shooting at his former primary school.
Following sentencing, the Solicitor General challenged the decision, arguing it was “unduly lenient” and failed to reflect the full severity of Prosper’s crimes.
During the appeal hearing, prosecutor Mr. Little KC argued that Prosper’s actions met the threshold for a whole-life order, particularly given the vulnerable nature of his victims—two of whom were children—and his premeditated intent to murder. He further alleged that Prosper intended to rape his sister and that Kyle had pleaded with him to spare his life. The prosecution also cited Prosper’s plan to attack a primary school using a firearm, aiming to achieve infamy and encourage copycat violence.
“The severity of this case surpassed the standard of ‘exceptionally high seriousness,’ warranting the most extreme penalty available,” Mr. Little stated. He added that the original sentencing judge placed undue weight on what Prosper ultimately didn’t do, rather than what he had done and intended to do.
However, Prosper’s defense counsel, Mr. David Bentley KC, countered that a life sentence—requiring a minimum of nearly five decades before parole eligibility—is already a severe punishment. He emphasized that Prosper would be an elderly man, possibly a pensioner, by the time he is considered for release. Mr. Bentley also noted that Prosper abandoned the school attack of his own volition and had turned himself in, showing a shift in his state of mind.
Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting alongside Justices Goss and Wall, acknowledged the horrific nature of the crimes, particularly the recurring theme of school shootings. She affirmed that, had Prosper been 21 or older at the time, a whole-life order would have been appropriate. However, under the current law, the threshold for imposing such a sentence on 18 to 20-year-olds is significantly higher.
“Despite the appalling nature of these offences, we are not convinced that the original sentence was unduly lenient,” she concluded. The sentencing judge, Mrs. Justice Cheema-Grubb, had correctly applied the “enhanced exceptionality” standard for young offenders, Baroness Carr added.
Prosper attended the hearing via video link from HMP Belmarsh.
Whole-life orders are reserved for the most heinous crimes and have been issued in rare cases, such as those involving Louis De Zoysa, who murdered police sergeant Matt Ratana in 2020, and Kyle Clifford, who killed three women in 2024.
Although sentencing rules were amended in 2022 to permit whole-life tariffs for 18 to 20-year-olds under exceptional circumstances, no individual in that age group has yet received such a sentence.
