A man who killed his cousin with an axe has been jailed for life at Hove Crown Court this afternoon (Thursday 28 May).
Judge Christine Henson told Donald Excell, 50, that he would serve a minimum term of 31 years for the murder of 58-year-old Rita Lambourne in her home in Bexhill.
Judge Henson said that Rita Lambourne’s sister Claire found her after Excell carried out a “swift but brutal attack on (Rita Lambourne) in her own home … a frenzied attack … a senseless and unfathomable act”.
The judge said: “You struck her with ferocity and force. You caused significant wounds to her head, face and arms. (It was) a frenzied attack … a senseless and unfathomable act.
“There was a significant degree of planning and this was a pre-meditated killing.”
Judge Henson passed sentence after hearing from the victim’s daughter Lucy Lambourne who spoke about “the devastating and lasting impact that her murder has had on me and my family, especially her grandchildren”.
She said: “Losing my mum in such a violent and senseless way has shattered me.”
Rita Lambourne’s daughter Kerry Lambourne said: “She was a beautiful, loving, radiant ray of sunshine … What happened to my mum was so cruel.”
Simon Gledhill, prosecuting, also told the court that Excell had grabbed his father Donald Excell Senior by the throat and bitten his nose in a separate attack.
Family members wept in the public gallery as the sentence was passed. The judge praised them for the dignity during the trial and the sentencing.
The judge recommended a high sheriff’s award of £500 for three teenage boys who helped solve the case with quick-thinking and “truly remarkable” care.
She said: “Were it not for three young boys fishing there several months later, your murder kit would never have been found. Your DNA and Rita’s was found on the axe sheath.”
