Cold blooded killer shot dead custody sergeant with concealed gun while handcuffed in police cell

A man who shot dead a police custody officer 'in cold blood' while handcuffed in police cell has been given a whole-life prison sentence.

Gun fanatic Louis De Zoysa murdered Sergeant Matt Ratana in a holding cell in Croydon, south London, in September 2020, after shooting him two times with homemade bullets.

De Zoysa is thought to have removed the legally-bought revolver from a holster while in a police van and then kept it hidden under the vent of his overcoat while in the cell.

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Sgt Ratana died in hospital despite the efforts of medical staff.

His three-week trial was shown slow-motion video of New Zealand-born Sgt Ratana being hit in the chest by the first of three shots discharged within three seconds.

A second bullet struck the 54-year-old in the thigh before De Zoysa was wrestled to the ground by other officers, as a third round hit the cell wall at the custody centre.

De Zoysa, of Banstead, Surrey, discharged a fourth shot while on the cell floor 16 seconds later, hitting an artery in his own neck and causing brain damage.

The jury which convicted De Zoysa was not told that a shortened infantry rifle, numerous types of ammunition, a pipe gun and a dummy launcher were found at his rented property after the killing.

De Zoysa, a former tax office data analyst, was sentenced for the murder at Northampton Crown Court on Thursday.

Passing sentence High Court judge Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson said: "You acted in cold blood. You intended to kill Sergeant 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