As we mentioned just now, those who knew Nicholas Prosper faced a struggle in getting him to engage with mental health services.

Perhaps none more so than his mother, Juliana Falcon, who noticed he had become withdrawn at home, as well as at school.

She encouraged him to attend college and study for A-levels, but this made Prosper "angry".

The judge said Juliana was "hard-working", adding: "She cared for her children and tried to persuade you to get help when [you were] struggling at school.

"She was an innocent victim of an ungrateful, unfeeling son whose only wish was to be famous through destroying the lives of young children."

We have also heard about Prosper refusing to engage with mental health services over a potential Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis.

This had been recommended by both his parents and teachers, and a referral was made to the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services team, but nothing came of it.

"Although autism was suspected and you seemed to be overwhelmed by social interaction and unco-operative in lessons, you resisted assessment or intervention," the judge said.

However, after his guilty pleas a consultant forensic psychiatrist examined Prosper in custody and their pre-sentence report, read in court on Tuesday, concluded the 19-year-old had mild ASD traits, including having "persistent deficits" in social communication and interaction.

He also found the killer had an "extreme lack" of empathy for others.

The judge continued: "These explain almost all the abnormal aspects of the way you related to people and obsessed about things you were interested in such as school shootings and serial killers.

"The internet facilitated this through the free availability of imagery and commentary."

She concluded there was an indirect connection between Prosper's ASD and his offending, but "it is important to note that your ASD does not correlate to an increased risk of violence".

Image source, PA Media

In sentencing Prosper, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb opted against imposing a whole life order, which would have meant no chance of release on parole.

These orders are rare and often described by judges up and down the country as "a sentence of last resort".

The judge said Prosper's age, guilty pleas and the fact he did not continue his violence after leaving the flat swayed her against a whole life tariff.

She instead fixed a minimum term of 49 years, meaning the triple murderer will not be eligible for parole until at least 2074 when he is in his late 60s.

His release would then have to be approved by the Parole Board.

In coming to her decision, the judge said precedent law offered specific guidance when it came to considering whole life orders for those aged 18-20.

She said the offences must be "exceptionally high, even by the standard of offences which would normally result in a whole life order".

"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," the judge said earlier.

"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."

It has only been legal in England and Wales for people aged between 18 and 20 to receive these orders since 2022.

Image source, Jacob King/PA

Luton Crown Court heard how Nicholas Prosper became fixated with school shootings, and while he interacted with others in chatrooms online, he stopped engaging with the real world and his own education.

The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "What we have seen again in this case again is senseless killings fuelled purely by a disturbing fixation with violence and obsessive brutality.

"This terrible case has exposed deep and longstanding weaknesses in private firearms sales, and we are urgently looking at how we can tighten these controls.

"But it also shows an urgent need to look at the very disturbing way some young people are becoming fixated with extreme violent material online and the real dangers to our communities as a result.

"From tech companies to law enforcement to schools, and right across society, stronger recognition of the nature of this threat is needed, and stronger action to prevent this kind of terrible violence.

"This government will not shy away from taking the actions that are needed to keep communities safe."

Image source, Google

We have just been sent a statement from Cardinal Newman Catholic School, external in Luton, where both Nicholas and Kyle Prosper had their secondary education.

A school spokesman begins by stating Juliana, Kyle and Giselle are "foremost in our thoughts".

They say Kyle, who was 16 years old, was a "much-loved" pupil who was "known for his kindness and for simply being a brilliant friend".

"It is, therefore, no surprise to hear that his last acts were focused on helping others and may have helped stop a tragedy of even greater proportions," they add.

"His bravery and courage are testament to the amazing young man Kyle was, and he will always be in our thoughts and prayers."

The statement continues by saying the details that emerged in court were "difficult to hear and even harder to comprehend".

It pays testament to the "tremendous support" shared within the school community.

"While we believe we exhausted the avenues open to us to support this family, after such a tragedy we would not be human if we did not reflect on whether there was anything we collectively could have done differently," the spokesman adds.

"We would welcome being part of any review process that may take place in the future."

Image source, Brian Farmer/BBC

Speaking outside court, Det Supt Rob Hall read a statement on behalf of Ray Prosper.

He is the former husband of Juliana Falcon, and dad to Giselle, Kyle and the killer, Nicholas Prosper.

The statement read: "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 the pain we have suffered."

We also heard more about Prosper's spiralling disengagement from the education system in the build-up to the murders.

After taking his GCSE exams, Prosper was "made" by his mum to go to sixth form college in September 2022.

This was something that made him "angry" at his mother, the judge said in her remarks.

He failed to work towards getting his A-levels and was subsequently asked to leave the college in March 2023.

"From then, you existed in an online world choosing little real-life contact with others apart from attending a gym and working part-time stacking supermarket shelves for a few months," Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb said.

The judge added he spent most of his time planning a school shooting "on a scale that you hoped would make you globally notorious".

As the judge passed her sentence, we gained further insight into what Nicholas Prosper did in the hours before he murdered his family, as well what happened in the immediate aftermath.

• Between 00:00 and 04:00 - Researches necrophilia, the Sarah Everard murder case and a range of mass shootings
• 04:11 - Watches what the judge called "extreme animated pornography" for 30 minutes
• 04:42 - Looks at school massacres online, including the Columbine attack in the US in 1999
• 05:00 - Attacks his mum, brother and sister inside their eighth-floor flat, murdering them after a struggle
• 05:29 - A neighbour calls the police
• 05:33 - Prosper is captured on CCTV leaving his block of flats and is seen wearing a hoodie by his neighbour
• 05:50 - Armed police arrive at the property
• 06:08 - Officers force entry and find a "scene of horror" inside
• 06:22 - Prosper posts a pre-recorded video to Facebook, wearing his "shooting uniform" and reading a script about The Walking Dead video game
• 07:55 - Having hidden for almost two and a half hours, Prosper breaks cover and gestures to a police car passing by on Bramingham Road. He is arrested after officers find a knife in his pocket

After his arrest on Friday, 13 September, Nicholas Prosper was taken into custody by Bedfordshire Police.

Footage from the interview room shows the killer calmly and repeatedly answering "no comment" during an hour of questioning by detectives.

Image source, Kimberley Piper/BBC

The Labour leader of Luton Council said counsellors will be made available to pupils, family and staff members at the primary school where Nicholas Prosper planned to kill 30 pupils.

Hazel Simmons described the details that came out in Prosper's sentencing as "deeply distressing, shocking and upsetting".

"We are supporting St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School... as well as standing up wider support in the community for anyone that is distressed by the revelations.

"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."

Image source, Laura Foster/BBC

Bedfordshire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) says he has written to the home secretary to request an "urgent review" of legislation relating to firearms sales and exchange in light of the Nichola's Prosper murders.

Labour's John Tizard, who was elected PCC last May, wants Yvette Cooper to look at the law and "make us all safer".

Tizard says his thoughts are with the victims following the "horrific" killings and thanks all those involved "in the response and investigation to bring the person [Proper] to justice".

He adds he is "relieved" Prosper was not able to carry out his chilling plans to target a school.

Image source, Contributed

A senior Bedfordshire Police officer has been paying tribute to Nichola's Prosper's victims and described the Luton killer has "truly evil".

Det Ch Insp 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."

The officer also paid tribute to all of his colleagues involved in bringing Prosper to justice.

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Sentencing has revealed that Nicholas Prosper's plan would have seen him kill 34 people in total:

• his family
• a class of four and five-year-old children at his old primary school
• two teachers
• and then, finally, himself

He had hoped to kill his family while they slept but his mother woke up and it seems she confronted her son.

Following a noisy struggle, Prosper's neighbours in the tower block alerted the police, meaning the killer had to leave his home hours ahead of his schedule and schools opening for the day.

After the killing Prosper wrote a note which said: "I was right in predicting no-one would've called the police had I killed them in their sleep."

Welcoming the life sentence with a minimum term of 49 years in jail, Bedfordshire's Assistant Chief Constable John Murphy adds: “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.”

Assistant Chief Constable John Murphy says: "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 [for the school shooting] 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."

Nicholas Prosper was still living with his mother, brother and sister as he plotted to murder them in the block of flats in the Marsh Farm area of north Luton.

His father, Ray, had separated from his wife Juliana Falcon when Nicholas was nine years old.

The court heard his relationship with his father was "strained", but Ray had maintained contact with his children.

Nicholas Prosper's father and other relatives hugged as they left court.

Footage from Bedfordshire Police bodycam shows the moment Nicholas Prosper is arrested near his home after killing his mother, brother and sister.

Concluding her comments, the judge paid tribute to Prosper's family, whose noise as they were being killed alerted neighbours in their tower block in the Marsh Farm area of Luton.

She says: "Their deaths are almost certain to have saved the lives of many children, and the community owes them a debt of gratitude."

Prosper's dad Ray is sobbing as he is led out of court.

Nicola Haseler
BBC News, Luton Crown Court

It’s hard to imagine what it must be like for Prosper’s dad, Ray, to listen to what his son did to his two younger children - especially in front of a packed court room.

At Prosper's first court appearance just days after the murders, his dad shouted out: "I still love you, son. It's not your fault, OK?"

Yesterday in his victim impact statement, Mr Prosper referred to having lost four members of his family.