Nicholas Prosper: Family killer and would-be school shooter
The crimes of Nicholas Prosper are deeply disturbing and tragic, though they could have extended beyond the atrocities that he did manage to enact.
After murdering his mother, sister, and brother, Prosper planned to commit a mass shooting at the primary school that attended as a child. He was thankfully stopped before he could get to the school, but he still managed to kill his family with no remorse.
Not only were Prosper’s crimes heinous, but they also brought up many valid questions regarding certain weapons in the UK and how easily they can be obtained.
Join us here at Crime+Investigation as we dive deeper into Nicholas Prosper’s crimes and his desire to become a school shooter.
Who is Nicholas Prosper?
19-year-old Nicholas Prosper was born on 18th December 2005, to parents Ray Prosper and Juliana Falcón.
Juliana emigrated to England from Mar del Plata in Argentina. She then met Ray, and the couple had four children together. Nicholas and his two younger siblings, Giselle, age 13, and Kyle, age 16, resided with their mother in Luton.
Prosper was described as geeky and quiet as a child with an interest in computers. He was also diagnosed with autism when young. Despite having a friend group initially, he started to become more isolated as he got older.
Troubling interests
Prosper became fascinated with particularly troubling subjects, such as school shootings and violent deaths.
He had researched pretty much every mass shooting event in detail, though he was particularly fixated on the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting, which left 26 dead.
Prosper’s plan
This morbid fascination with mass shootings led Prosper to create a meticulously detailed plan for his own massacre.
Planned for more than a year, his goal was to murder around 30 people so that he would have killed more than those at Sandy Hook.
Prosper wanted to carry out his attack on Friday, 13th September 2024, at his former primary school, St Joseph’s Catholic. His knowledge of the security and layout of his former school made the building a prime target.
Before he attacked the school, Prosper had hoped to murder his family with a shotgun while they slept. He then intended to wait until the 9am assembly began at the school. It was during this assembly that he wanted to begin his rampage, as it was where children and staff would be gathering together.
When it came to the shotgun he planned to use, Prosper obtained one through deceptive means. After a failed attempt to purchase a gun in August 2024, he was successful in September. He purchased a double-barrel shotgun along with 100 cartridges for £650 from a local dealer. He did so with a high-quality forgery of a firearms license.
The murder of the Prosper family
Prosper’s plan did not go as he expected, as his mother woke up early in the morning. Juliana saw her son wielding a shotgun, and a struggle occurred.
Juliana suffered from defensive wounds on her arms and hands following this, suggesting that she had been attacked with a knife. She was then shot at close range in the head.
Following the struggle, Prosper’s little sister Giselle woke up. She ran and hid under a table, but Prosper was merciless and chased her down before shooting her in the face.
Prosper’s younger brother Kyle was the next target. Kyle attempted to defend himself with a knife, but Nicolas shot him in the chest before stabbing and slashing him more than 100 times. Kyle escaped despite his horrific injuries, but his brother followed him and shot him in the head.
Police intervention
The disturbance alerted neighbours, who called emergency services. The bodies of the Prosper family were found and, chillingly, a copy of a book called How to Kill Your Family was left on Juliana’s body.
After hiding for several hours in a wooded area, Prosper surrendered after believing local schools would be locked down, thus ruining his plan. He was arrested by the officers he flagged down when they noticed blood on his face.
The charges and verdict
Nicholas Prosper was charged with three murder counts for his family. He was also charged with shotgun possession, acquiring a shotgun without a certificate, and possession of a bladed article in a public place.
Prosper pleaded guilty to all charges, and on 19th March 2025, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 49 years.
This verdict was understandably questioned due to the severity of Prosper’s crimes, including the murder of two children and the planned murder of more.
The sentence has been referred for consideration to the Attorney General under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.
Nicholas Prosper was desperate to enact one of the biggest massacres of the 21st century and become notorious. He won’t get his wish, as his name will soon be forgotten.
The memories of his family and victims – Juliana, Kyle, and Giselle – will live on, though, and they will not be tainted by the heinous acts of their killer.
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