Man found guilty of murdering Met Police officer Matt Ratana while handcuffed in custody
The latest ITV News report on the Matt Ratana trial which saw Louis De Zoysa guilty of murder today
A man has been found guilty of murdering Metropolitan Police Sergeant Matt Ratana while handcuffed at a custody block in south London.
A jury of seven men and five women deliberated for just over five hours over two days before unanimously convicting Louis De Zoysa, who listened to the verdict sitting in a wheelchair in the secure glass-fronted dock.
They found De Zoysa guilty of shooting Sergeant Ratana in the chest while handcuffed during a search at the police station in Croydon in the early hours of 25 September 2020.
Sgt Ratana’s partner, Su Bushby, and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley were among those in the public gallery as the verdict was returned.
De Zoysa from Banstead, Surrey, claimed diminished responsibility, and denied committing murder, but the jury decided that he pulled the antique weapon’s trigger deliberately and did not suffer an autistic meltdown.
A three-week trial at Northampton Crown Court was shown distressing video footage of New Zealand-born Met Police Sergeant Matt Ratana being hit in the chest by the first of three shots discharged by De Zoysa within three seconds.
Sgt Ratana died of his injuries in hospital despite the efforts of medical staff.
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 Croydon’s Windmill Road custody centre.
De Zoysa, who was living in 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 25-year-old, who now uses a wheelchair, has communication difficulties and is being treated at a healthcare unit in Northamptonshire, was arrested in London Road, Norbury, in the early hours of Friday, 25 September 2020.
A bag containing seven bullets and cannabis were found during a search of De Zoysa’s clothing and body, but officers did not discover a .41-calibre revolver loaded with six rounds.
During the trial, prosecutors said De Zoysa “retrieved” the weapon from a holster under his left arm, while handcuffed to the rear, as he was being transported to Windmill Road in a police van.
CCTV evidence suggested he managed to get hold of the gun with his right hand around 16 minutes before the shooting and then took advantage of a vent at the back of his overcoat to hide the weapon until the shooting.
He is due to be sentenced on 27 July at Northampton Crown Court.
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