Whole life term for killer who shot police officer Matt Ratana

A gun fanatic who shot dead a Metropolitan Police custody sergeant after smuggling a gun into a holding cell was handed a whole life jail sentence.

Louis De Zoysa, 26, opened fire on Matt Ratana without warning using a legally-bought antique revolver and homemade bullets, causing a fatal wound to his heart and lung. Sgt Ratana, 54, later died in hospital.

De Zoysa, a former tax officer, was handcuffed at the time of the September 2020 attack at Croydon police station in south London, and suffered brain damage after one of the four shots he fired hit him in the neck.

He is believed to have smuggled the gun and holster into his cell by concealing it under his armpit. CCTV footage suggests he later retrieved it with his right hand and used a vent on the back of his overcoat to hide it until he opened fire.

De Zoysa claimed he was only guilty of manslaughter because he had suffered an "autistic meltdown" while in custody but he was convicted of murder following a trial at Northampton Crown Court.

The judge, Mr Justice Johnson, imposed a whole life sentence, telling him: "You acted in cold blood. You intended to kill Sgt Ratana.

"You aimed the gun at his chest at near point-blank range. Even as he fell you re-aimed and fired a second shot at him.

"The aggravating factors outweigh the mitigating factors. There is therefore no justification to depart from the starting point of a whole life order."

The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-...

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