A man branded a “monster” has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 31 years for the “frenzied attack” murder of his cousin with an axe.
Donald Excell, 50, inflicted at least five blows to the head, face, chest, and arms of Rita Lambourne, 58, after letting himself into her home armed with the weapon on February 12 last year.
The assault occurred while Ms Lambourne was speaking to her partner on the phone.
Excell, of Seabourne Road, Bexhill, was convicted of murder at Hove Crown Court in December.
During his sentencing hearing on Thursday, he was unrepresented and offered no mitigation.
Judge Christine Henson KC, in passing sentence, stated: “I am sure you planned this action before setting off to her home that evening.”
She added it was a “frenzied attack by you within Rita’s own home”.
Family members described confusion as to why he would kill her, the person who had “tried so hard to help”.
Judge Henson said to Excell: “It appears you had become preoccupied by a self-made conspiracy theory of a paedophile ring cover-up, including Rita.”
But she said there was “absolutely no evidence of any such cover-up”.
The judge sentenced him to a minimum of 31 years’ life imprisonment, minus the 464 days he already spent in custody.
The court heard Excell had 21 convictions since 1992 including of low-level violence, and the year before the murder had assaulted his father by biting him on the nose during a TV dinner.
In 2023 Ms Lambourne gave her cousin Excell a lift and he “lost it, threatened to kill her like a crazed maniac”.
The court heard after that incident she blocked him on social media and sent him a text message to say “I didn’t deserve that, I hope you sort yourself out soon, I wish you all the best.”
On the night of the murder, he had walked from his own home 20 minutes away to Ms Lambourne’s address and entered her home through her unlocked back door.
Ms Lambourne had been on the phone with her partner, Ashley Panahandehkafifar, moments before the attack and he heard shouts as she dropped her phone, the trial had heard.
He called Ms Lambourne’s daughter Lucie who in turn called Claire Haldane to go and check on Ms Lambourne.
Ms Haldane discovered her sister in the front room of her house and started CPR.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Haldane said she would “never forget the horror I physically felt and saw that night”.
“Only comfort, I found my sister and no-one else.
“No-one else had to endure that pain and I could be with my sister at the end of her life.”
She added that she believes Excell wanted to split the family up for a long time, adding: “He has not won and has no power or control over any of us any more.”
Mr Panahandehkafifar said his partner was attacked with an axe with no-one there to rescue her, with the “attack taken place by this monster”.
Ms Lambourne was described as “kind, caring and full of laughter”, and her death has left an “irreplaceable void” to those who loved her.
The judge said evidence at trial showed Excell attempts to pull the family apart, adding: “The sad irony in your cruel act, you have actually repaired any family rifts.”
For the majority of the murder investigation, police were unable to find the axe or the clothes Excell is seen wearing on CCTV.
In September last year, teenagers fishing just north of Bexhill found a rucksack in the water with clothes and the sheath of an axe weighed down with a sandbag, the court heard.
At sentencing, Judge Henson awarded them the High Sheriff’s award for uncovering the key DNA evidence that was able to be placed in front of a jury.
“Their astonishing forensic and responsible actions was truly remarkable for those so young,” the judge said.
Speaking outside court, Ms Haldane, standing alongside brother Andrew Cheese, and Ms Lambourne’s daughters Lucie and Kerry, said Excell was behind bars “where he belongs”.
“On behalf of my family, all her friends, we’re going to miss her for the rest of our lives.
“Now we can sleep easy at night and slowly start building our lives and trying to move forward as a really, really strong, united family.”
Detective Chief Inspector Alex Campbell, of Sussex Police, said the investigation involved months of “meticulous work” by detectives and specialist officers to track what happened to Ms Lambourne that night through CCTV and forensic analysis, and tracing Excell’s movements.
He added the sentence ensures “that the man responsible for this brutal crime will now face the consequences of his actions”.
