The mother of Sergeant Matt Ratana’s killer, Louis De Zoysa, has said he shouldn’t be behind bars in HMP Belmarsh whilst insisting ‘he’s not evil’.
Louis De Zoysa, 27, was sentenced to life in 2023 after he was convicted of murdering police officer Matt Ratana, 54, following a shooting in September 2020.
The former tax office data analyst smuggled an antique gun into a Croydon police station after officers who searched him before his arrival at the custody block failed to find the weapon.
Although the killer was handcuffed he managed to get a hold of the weapon in a cell and shoot Sgt Ratana – a Metropolitan police officer of 29 years – twice in the chest.
The high ranking officer, who originally hailed from New Zealand, died in hospital despite the best efforts of medical staff.
De Zoysa had denied the murder and his legal team argued a defence of diminished responsibly claiming he suffered from a ‘autistic meltdown’ caused by the stress of the arrest and being held in a confined space.
Now the police killer’s mother, Elizabeth, has spoken out insisting HMP Belmarsh is ‘absolutely not’ the right place for her son who is struggling to ‘cope with the prison system’, as she claims ‘he didn’t mean’ to do it.
Elizabeth De Zoysa – the mother of ergeant Matt Ratana’s killer, Louis De Zoysa – insists her son shouldn’t be behind bars and that he is ‘not evil’
Louis De Zoysa was sentenced to life by a High Court judge at Northampton Crown Court last year following the murder of Sergeant Matt Ratana
Sergeant Matt Ratana was two months away from retiring when he was fatally shot with an antique firearm that Mr De Zoysa had managed to successful conceal
Chilling footage from inside the cell showed the moments before Sgt Ratana was shot dead
Ms De Zoysa told LBC on Tuesday: ‘I didn’t want my son to be an evil cop killer,’ before elaborating her belief that her son had an ‘autistic meltdown’ which contributed to his actions.
‘There’s no indication whenever I speak to him that he ever wanted to kill anyone,’ she added.
‘Emotionally, he’s unstable. I’m very concerned about him in Belmarsh. He doesn’t seem to be coping with the prison system,’ she said whilst revealing she hadn’t heard from her son in over a week.
‘The last time I saw him on a visit he actually looked like a tramp. He had holes in his shoes, his clothes had holes, his trousers were stained,’ she said.
‘It didn’t look like he’d washed or brushed his hair for weeks. So I’m very concerned.’
She added: ‘He can communicate. He uses his whiteboard and he can usually communicate in single words. He can’t at the moment put a sentence together.’
Speaking about her son, who is paralysed on his right side, and currently in wheelchair, she said: ‘He’s massively brain damaged. Belmarsh just doesn’t have the capability to look after him. He’s not doing any walking. He needs to walk.
Sgt Ratana’s partner said losing her partner of five years was the most devastating event that happened in her life
De Zoysa, depicted here in a court sketch, gave some of his evidence by writing and drawing on a court whiteboard and the trial was conducted in simplified language because of his brain injury
Screen grab taken from body worn camera footage issued by the Metropolitan Police of Louis De Zoysa being put into a police van before the murder
The revolver used by Louis De Zoysa to shoot Metropolitan Police officer Matt Ratana in the chest inside a custody block in Croydon
‘Practice a little bit every day. He needs some stimulation. He needs to either be in employment or education.’
Claiming her son can’t recall the killing, Ms De Zoysa said she was worried her son wanted to take his own life at the time but now doesn’t believe that narrative.
‘I don’t believe that story about this narrative that he turned the gun on himself. He’s not evil. He didn’t mean to do this,’ she said.
Ms De Zoysa also believes her son had obtained the gun after being allegedly intimidated by a gang.
‘You can’t get any worse than this. My son, his actions have caused the death of a police officer and he’s brain damaged and he’s got a whole of life sentence,’ she said.
‘There’s no indication whenever I speak to him that he ever wanted to kill anyone. I mean, it’s a miracle that he’s alive. It’s an absolute miracle. And so I hold on to that.
Speaking of Sgt Ratana’s family, she added: ‘I’m deeply, deeply sorry. I’m so sorry for their loss and, what more could I say? I think about them every day.’
