Nicholas Prosper, 19, has been sentenced to a minimum of 49 years in prison for murdering his mother, brother and sister in Luton last year
The bodies of Juliana Falcon, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, were found at their home in September
After killing his family, Prosper planned to carry out a mass shooting at his former primary school - having chosen a Friday 13th date deliberately
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb says Prosper "intended to unleash disaster on the community of Luton" and was "inappropriately cheerful" after being arrested
The court heard Prosper hoped to kill his family while they slept - but after a noisy struggle, he left the flat and neighbours called police
Watch Prosper being arrested here and him buying his shotgun in a car park here
Watch: Teenager sentenced to minimum of 49 years in prison
Nicholas Prosper entered the court and sat with his head in his hands and the judge has started talking.
Prosper has stood up to confirm his name while looking at the floor.
The start of the hearing had been delayed after he refused to attend court.
Brian Farmer
Luton Crown Court
Relatives of Nicholas Prosper are taking their seats in Court 5, as the judge takes her seat.
Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb will begin passing sentence any moment now.
You can watch the judge deliver her remarks by clicking the video at the top of this page.
A reminder that some of the content she discusses could contain graphic or distressing detail.
At the top of this feed, we've pinned footage of Prosper buying the shotgun he used to carry out the murders.
Prosecutor Timothy Cray KC told the court yesterday that Prosper deceived a gun seller online by forging a shotgun licence.
The killer paid £650 plus £30 petrol money to the man for the shotgun and 100 cartridges.
On Tuesday, the court was told he considered stabbing the seller and taking the gun, but decided not to as it meant the man's wife would have witnessed it.
Nicholas Prosper filmed buying gun day before killing family
Brian Farmer
Luton Crown Court
Journalists gathered outside Court 5 at Luton Crown Court are still waiting for an update on when Prosper might arrive from prison.
The proceedings were meant to start at 10:30, but the judge delayed this by an hour after Prosper refused to leave his custody cell.
Now 11:30 has come and gone, and we're still hanging about.
A court official is providing updates and says reporters will be told when the judge is ready to start.
The Ministry of Justice has told us that Prosper would be the youngest defendant to ever receive a whole life order, if one was imposed on the 19-year-old as part of his mandatory life sentence.
It has only been legal in England and Wales for people aged between 18 and 20 to receive these orders since 2022.
Image source, Bedfordshire PoliceJuliana Falcon, 48, Kyle Prosper, 16, and Giselle Prosper, 13, were murdered at their home by Nicholas Prosper
We heard from the killer's father, Ray Prosper, for the first time yesterday, as his victim impact statement was read by the prosecutor to the court.
Here it is in full:
"My name is Raymond Prosper and I am the former husband of Juliana Falcon and the father of Kyle, Giselle and Nicholas Prosper.
"I make this as my victim personal statement to convey the impact that this tragic incident has had on our lives.
"The pain of our loss will never be healed. This includes my whole family; our lives will never be the same.
"For me personally, when I heard the horrific news on that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all and we have lost four family members.
"We would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation and for supporting us through this difficult time.
"We would also like to thank the wider community who have been tremendously supportive and generous with donations to help with funeral arrangements.
"We know that this awful incident has affected others as well as ourselves, but we now want to be able to grieve and to try and move on as a family in private."
Brian Farmer
Luton Crown Court
It's getting busy here in Court 5, with about 25 journalists and a handful of police officers waiting outside the courtroom.
An overflow room is being set up in Court 3 for reporters so they can follow the proceedings from there, such is the demand.
Since being told the sentencing would begin at 11:30, we've not heard anything else.
For any readers joining us for the first time, here's what we heard in court yesterday:
When the judge, Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb starts delivering her sentencing remarks, we will be streaming her comments live and you can watch them by clicking the play button that will appear at the top of this page.
Warning: Some of the judge's speech is likely to contain distressing detail.
Having TV cameras in court is a relatively new phenomenon in England and Wales, with legislation first laid before Parliament in 2020.
It is usually only permitted in the most serious, high-profile criminal cases and only the judge's remarks are broadcast - you cannot see the rest of the courtroom.
Brian Farmer
Luton Crown Court
Image source, South Beds News AgencyThis is the second time in a week that we've had a high-profile murderer decline to attend their sentencing.
Last week, crossbow killer Kyle Clifford refused to leave his prison cell as he was sentenced for the triple murders of Carol, Louise and Hannah Hunt at Bushey, near Watford.
Now Nicholas Prosper is doing the same.
He looked visibly uncomfortable at times during yesterday's hearing, blocking his ears and putting his head in his hands.
On this occasion, the sentencing judge is demanding that he's brought into the dock.
Nicholas Prosper has refused to attend his sentencing this morning, a court official has just announced.
Journalists waiting outside Court 5 at Luton Crown Court were told the judge has demanded his attendance, and ordered he is brought to the court.
We're expecting the case to be delayed by about an hour until 11:30 as a result.
More as we get it.
Image source, Bedfordshire PoliceNicholas Prosper filmed a video of himself practising shooting with a wooden plank prior to the murders
Perhaps the most chilling line that came out of yesterday's hearing was this: Nicholas Prosper wanted to become the deadliest mass school killer the UK has seen.
Prosper planned to kill his mother and siblings in their sleep, but they were disturbed before he could do so and neighbours in the tower block heard the violence that ensued. They then raised the alarm.
That meant the murderer had to flee the family home and hide in a nearby road, where he was later spotted by police and arrested.
Luton Crown Court heard yesterday that had Prosper's plan gone as he desired, he would have had a better chance of making it to St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, about two miles away.
There, he wanted to carry out an unimaginable massacre of early years children and their teachers.
This had all been calculated by Prosper, who created a distinctive yellow and black uniform for the attacks and plotted them for Friday 13th.
It was a date he felt would only add to his notoriety, given its "unlucky" status.
If you’re not familiar with the court system – or did not catch our coverage yesterday – here’s what’s likely to happen today.
The BBC has reporters in court, and there is huge wider interest with the court full of journalists from other broadcasters and national newspapers.
Yesterday, we heard the prosecution read out the facts of the case and the defence offering mitigation on Prosper’s behalf.
The mandatory sentence for murder is life imprisonment, but the judge will have to set a minimum term that Nicholas Prosper must serve before he can be considered for release on parole.
In some cases, the judge can hand down a "whole-life tariff" - a case of "life meaning life" with no chance of parole. Last week, the Bushey crossbow killer Kyle Clifford was given a whole-life term for killing his ex-partner, her sister and her mother in Hertfordshire.
Judge Mrs Cheema-Grubb is due to resume the sentencing hearing at 10:30, where she will sum up the case and then announce how long Prosper will spend in prison.
Image source, Bedfordshire PoliceNicholas Prosper has been remanded in custody since the murders last September
Yesterday we heard how 19-year-old Prosper forged a firearms certificate so he could purchase a shotgun on 12 September 2024.
In the early hours of the next day, he used the weapon to murder his 48-year-old mother Juliana Falcon, his brother Kyle, 16, and his 13-year-old sister Giselle.
Having heard gunshots, neighbours alerted the police – who caught Prosper walking along a nearby road at about 07:55.
This all took place in and around the Leabank block of flats where they lived, in the Marsh Farm area of Luton.
After being caught, Prosper later admitted to a prison nurse that he was planning to commit a mass shooting at his former primary school later that morning.
He was taken to custody before being charged with:
Prosper admitted all the offences at a hearing in February.
An inquest at Bedford Coroner's Court in October heard all three of the victims died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Image source, PA MediaThe attacks took place at a flat in the Marsh Farm area of Luton last September
Good morning and welcome to our coverage of the sentencing of Nicholas Prosper, who murdered his mum and teenage siblings at their home in Luton in September.
The sentencing hearing began at Luton Crown Court on Tuesday, but was adjourned so judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb could give more thought to the sentence she would impose.
We’re expecting the hearing to resume at 10:30, when we will bring you the key details on this page.
We should warn you that the content coming from the courtroom is likely to contain some distressing details.
We are now ending our coverage from the sentencing of Nicholas Prosper and will resume tomorrow.
From 10:30 GMT, judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb will begin passing sentence upon the 19-year-old defendant.
As we heard earlier, Prosper wanted to become the worst mass school shooter the UK has ever seen.
He plotted the attack in Luton last September, having already murdered his mum and teenage siblings - offences he admitted last month.
If you have been affected by any of the distressing content coming from court today, support is available via BBC Action Line.
We'll be back tomorrow with the latest updates from Luton Crown Court.
We can now share with you the victim impact statement of Ray Prosper, which was read to the court a short while ago.
"My name is Raymond Prosper and I am the former husband of Juliana Falcon and the father of Kyle, Giselle and Nicholas Prosper.
"I make this as my victim personal statement to convey the impact that this tragic incident has had on our lives.
"The pain of our loss will never be healed. This includes my whole family; our lives will never be the same.
"For me personally, when I heard the horrific news on that day, part of my soul died too. This is a lose-lose situation for us all and we have lost four family members.
"We would like to thank the police for their thorough investigation and for supporting us through this difficult time.
"We would also like to thank the wider community who have been tremendously supportive and generous with donations to help with funeral arrangements.
"We know that this awful incident has affected others as well as ourselves, but we now want to be able to grieve and to try and move on as a family in private."
Image source, Telltale GamesClementine is a fictional character in The Walking Dead video game
We heard some more detail in court earlier about Prosper's growing obsession with a video game character called Clementine.
The child featured in a video game inspired by The Walking Dead, a series set in the wake of a zombie apocalypse.
Speaking to a prison nurse, Prosper said he would kill himself after committing the school shooting he planned.
Then he would be able to go to Clementine and join her, he claimed.
Prosper explained Clementine was a "friend" in the video game and that "he had been friends with her for some time", the prosecutor said earlier.
In a video posted after the killings, Prosper spoke to the camera, saying: "I am the chosen one; chosen by Clementine. I am guided as Christians are guided by Jesus Christ."
For any readers who may have missed our coverage so far, here is a recap:
