A Luton teenager, who shot dead his mother and two of his siblings, had been planning to kill as many as 30 very young school children.
Nicholas Prosper pleaded guilty last month to the murders of his mother Juliana, 48, alongside his 16-year-old brother Kyle and sister Giselle, 13.
All three were shot in the head inside the family home in Luton on 13 September last year.
Details of the murder and the killer’s motivation are being heard at Luton Crown Court today, as part of sentencing hearing.
The court has been told that it was the intention of Nicholas Prosper to gain “national and international notoriety” by killing as many children as possible at a local primary school.
Prosecutor Timothy Gray KC said: “That same Friday morning, he had planned to kill at least 30 of the youngest pupils and two of their teachers at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Luton.
“This is the school he attended as a child. It is about three-quarters of a mile from his home.
“He had been preparing these killings for months. His planning was cold, deliberate and without sympathy or emotion towards the actual victims or potential victims.”
The Court was told he researched school massacres in the United States, Norway, Australia and New Zealand.
Timothy Gray said: “In summary, it comes to this, the defendant’s main wish was to achieve lasting notoriety as a mass killer.
“Specifically, he wanted to imitate and even surpass other mass killers around the world.”
The prosecutor said that Nicholas Prosper was deadly serious in his plans to carry out a school massacre.
He had 35 shot gun cartridges still available to him that morning. He added: “It is important to underline that, as far as St Joseph’s was concerned, he had made his plans with care. He was not just ‘play acting’ or fantasising.
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The Court was told he researched school massacres in the United States, Norway, Australia and New Zealand
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“The best evidence of his intent is that the first act of his plan that day was the pre-meditated shooting of his mother, brother and sister.
“His further intention in relation to the school was to carry out a mass shooting during the 9.00am classroom assembly, for the early years pupils; that is children aged between 4 or 5.”
However, Mr Gray KC said his meticulous plans hit an obstacle. He had planned to kill his family members as they lay sleeping.
However, they became aware of that plan and got into a violent confrontation with their killer.
In addition to the shotgun injuries he suffered, Kyle Prosper was stabbed around 100 times.
Aware that neighbours would likely have called the police because of the noise, the young killer decided to leave home early and head into nearby woods.
Around two hours later, he emerged from the place he had been hiding.
“The sound of sirens was everywhere as the emergency services responded to the shootings that had taken place.”
The prosecutor said: “He put his hand up to gesture to a passing police car. The officers stopped their car and arrested him. They found that he was armed with a knife in his trouser pocket.”
The teenager then took the officers to an area where he had hidden his shotgun and ammunition.
The court heard that evidence suggested that what drove him on most was the “desire to be famous or infamous as a mass killer. This was killing for the sake of killing.”
A report by Dr Iain Kooyman, a consultant psychiatrist concluded that the defendant “shows all the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
“Although his parents and teachers suspected he might have this condition, it was undiagnosed and therefore untreated at the time the defendant planned and carried out the killings.”
Luton Crown Court was told that Nicholas Prosper uploaded a bizarre video to Facebook, just hours after he murdered his mother and two siblings.
In the video, recorded inside his home the night before, he references the Walking Dead video game.
In the 70-second recording, he appears to threaten violence against his 13-year-old sister.
Wearing a yellow bucket hat and black T-shirt, he calmly declared he would take violent revenge against Giselle for making “incorrect choices” in The Walking Dead game.
The 18-year-old said his sister’s “face will be mutilated further than necessary,” claiming he was “chosen” to protect a fictional character called Clementine in the zombie game.
The sentencing hearing continues.
