A man who shot dead a Metropolitan Police custody sergeant after smuggling a gun into a holding cell has been handed a whole life jail sentence.
Louis De Zoysa was convicted of Sergeant Matt Ratana’s murder in June – and it is believed he had concealed the antique revolver and holster under his armpit. Jurors were shown distressing CCTV footage of the 26-year-old gun fanatic using the legally-bought gun to shoot Sgt Ratana.
Northampton Crown Court was told the former tax office data analyst deliberately fired the weapon without warning into the 54-year-old’s chest, causing a fatal wound to his heart and lung. He later died in hospital.
De Zoysa was handcuffed at the time, and suffered brain damage after one of the shots fired hit him in the neck. He had claimed diminished responsibility but was found guilty after a jury decided he pulled the antique weapon’s trigger deliberately to fire homemade bullets, and had not suffered an autistic meltdown.
