Man who killed Sergeant Matt Ratana in custody centre jailed for life
The man who shot and killed Sergeant Matt Ratana in a custody centre has been jailed for life.
Louis De Zoyza, 25, from Surrey, has been give a whole life order, which means he will never leave prison.
De Zoyza was arrested in September 2020 in London Road, Norbury, and taken to the Croydon Custody Centre where officers failed to find an antique revolver which he had legally purchased over the internet. It had been loaded with six rounds of ammunition which he had made himself.
Northampton Crown Court heard how De Zoyza managed to get hold of the gun and let off four shots, one hitting New Zealand-born Sgt Ratana who had been a Met officer for almost 30 years in the chest and another in the leg.
One bullet hit De Zoysa in the neck, leaving him with brain damage.
De Zoyza was found guilty of the sergeant’s murder in June. Sentencing on Thursday at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Jeremy Johnson said Sgt Ratana “had devoted his life to public service, he had put himself in the way of danger to protect the public.”
Sgt Ratana’s partner, Su Bushby, read a statement tot he court ahead of the sentencing.
She said: “The tormenting grief was so overwhelming and the feeling of emptiness was so intense. I just sat there, waiting and willing him to walk through the door. I still do to this day.”
“The last few years have been surreal. I remember seeing the man who shot Matt for the first time in November 2022, it was two years after I had lost my soulmate.
“I found it extremely difficult to face him because I remember thinking how unfair it was.
“I have been in a state of limbo since that day. I have not been able to get on with my life and wasn’t able to work for two years, I still can’t move on with my life after losing Matt and I don’t know if I ever will.”
De Zoysa, who was living in a flat at a farm in Banstead, Surrey, at the time of the shooting, denied murder.
He told jurors that he did not mean to fire the gun and was having a “panic attack” at the time, while his lawyers argued his responsibility was diminished by an autistic meltdown.
De Zoysa had worked for HMRC in Croydon for around 16 months as a data analyst.
He bought the gun, which was legal to own due to its antique status, on the internet in June 2020, and made the ammunition on the farm, the court heard.
Pictured top: Sergeant Matt Ratana (Picture: PA)
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