From a sword wielding maniac to a violent nursery worker, welcome to the top 10 worst criminals jailed In UK prisons during 2025.
10 – Roksana Lecka
Roksana Lecka’s offenses occurred while she worked as an Early Years Educator at two nurseries in West London, primarily at the now-closed Riverside Nursery in Twickenham, between October 2023 and June 2024.
Her crimes were described by the prosecution as “sadistic” and involving “gratuitous violence,” with the abuse being discovered in June 2024 after a colleague reported Lecka’s suspicious behavior.
The Metropolitan Police reviewed extensive CCTV footage which revealed her actions that included the serious abuse of children within her care. Lecka, aged 22 at the time of sentencing, was charged with 24 counts of cruelty to a person under the age of 16.
Lecka initially denied the assaults but, before the trial began, pleaded guilty to seven counts of child cruelty.
Following a six-week trial at Kingston Crown Court in June 2025, a jury convicted her of an additional 14 counts, resulting in a total conviction for 21-counts of child cruelty. The jury was reportedly exempted from future service due to the distress caused by the graphic CCTV evidence.
On September 26, 2025, Roksana Lecka was sentenced at Kingston Crown Court to eight years in prison. Judge Sarah Plaschkes KC characterized her criminal conduct as “sadistic.” Lecka was also permanently barred from working with children in the future.
9 – Marcus Monzo
Marcus Arduini-Monzo, 37, carried out a 20-minute rampage on April 30th, 2024 with his attack beginning with him driving his van into a pedestrian, were described as occurring while he was in a state of cannabis-induced psychosis.
The victims, who were not known to him, included members of the public and police officers and the primary victim was Daniel Anjorin, a 14-year-old boy who was fatally attacked with a samurai sword on his way to school.
Monzo was confronted by numerous police officers wielding tasers, PAVA spray, which he was resistant too, and eventually armed officers, yet he was still able to seriously wound several officers.
The charges against Monzo at trial included Murder, three counts of attempted murder, two counts of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary and possession of a bladed article.
Monzo’s trial took place at the Old Bailey. His defence argued that his mental state amounted to diminished responsibility, claiming he had no memory of the attacks.
However, the prosecution successfully argued that his psychotic state was self-induced due to his voluntary cannabis misuse, meaning he was fully responsible for his actions and did not meet the legal threshold for diminished responsibility.
Monzo was found guilty on all counts and was sentenced on June 27th, 2025, to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 40 years. Monzo will be at least 75 years old when he is first eligible to be considered for release on parole, though the judge noted that he may never be released.
8 – Javon Riley
Convicted and sentenced for his role as the organizer and getaway driver in a gangland shooting that severely injured a nine-year-old girl and three men, Javon Riley, a 33-year-old man from Tottenham, committed his crime outside the Evin restaurant in Dalston, East London.
Riley orchestrated a meticulously planned drive-by shooting targeting rival members of the Hackney Turks organized crime network, who were sitting outside the restaurant. The attack was part of an ongoing “tit-for-tat” feud with the Tottenham Turks gang, with whom Riley had links.
Riley acted as the planner, spotter, and getaway driver. He performed extensive reconnaissance of the area for several days, scoping out the location while pretending to be a customer at a cafe opposite the restaurant.
On the night of the attack, he drove a stolen car to confirm the targets were present and later transported the gunman away in a different stolen car, which was then burned out to destroy evidence.
A gunman on a stolen Ducati Monster motorcycle fired six shots into the busy restaurant. The first bullet missed the intended targets and struck the girl, who was inside the restaurant eating ice cream with her family, in the head.
Three men, affiliated with the rival gang, were also struck by bullets, sustaining injuries to the arm, leg, and thigh. The person who fired the weapon remains at large and Riley refused to name the individual who recruited him for the attack, citing fear for his life and family.
Riley was found guilty on August 18th, 2025 and he was convicted for three counts of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Riley admitted to the reconnaissance and getting the gunman away, but claimed he believed he was taking part in a “smash-and-grab” robbery for drugs, not a shooting. The jury rejected this claim.
Riley was sentenced on September 12th, 2025, at the Old Bailey to life in prison with a minimum term of 34 years before he becomes eligible to be considered for parole.
7 – Jason King
On May 10th, 2024, in School Close, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, Jason King stabbed his neighbor, Alistair Mahwuto, with a knife following a “long-standing” dispute.
When police arrived, King shot repeatedly at officers with a crossbow from his upstairs window, then chased them with the weapon and shot an officer. King was later shot by police after refusing to put down the weapon.
The altercation began after King called the police the evening before, claiming his windows had been broken by a neighbor.
The neighbor, Mr. Mahwuto, 63, suffered a two-centimetre knife wound, which a doctor said could have been fatal if a few centimetres higher. The police officer, PC Curtis Foster, was struck in the leg by a crossbow bolt, causing a two to three-centimetre wound near an artery.
King pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding, wounding with intent, affray, having an offensive weapon and having an article with a blade or point with the sentencing judge stated King was motivated in part by “revenge” and a “sense of grievance”
On Wednesday, August 20th, 2025, at Aylesbury Crown Court, the 55-year-old Jason King was sentenced to an extended sentence of 12-years with 9-years in prison.
6 – Christine Kekkonen
At 4:21 PM on May 9th, 2024, Christine Kekkonen sent a text message to her mother that read: “Mum, please get the police here now. Please. I’ve done something awful.”
Christine, then 37, had fatally stabbed Henri Kekkonen, her husband, in the neck at their home in Dunford Terrace, Baltonsborough, Somerset.
Her father then called for an ambulance and police. Emergency services arrived within 15 minutes, but Henri Kekkonen could not be saved and died at the scene.
The knife used in the stabbing was recovered from the side of their bed and prosecutors argued that the crime involved a single stab wound to the neck while Henri was in bed.
The precise motive was described as unknown. The court heard that Christine Kekkonen had a history of mental health difficulties, including a formal diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder.
She held a “deluded mind” belief that her husband, who was her primary carer and described as “kind and caring,” was “coercive and controlling” and “should have done more” for her.
Arrested and charged with murder, Kekkonen pleaded not guilty to murder, claiming she had not intended to injure her husband, however, a jury convicted Christine Kekkonen of murder in November 2024.
On May 23rd, 2025, Kekkonen was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 15 years before she can be considered for parole. Her defense expressed her deep remorse and characterized the crime as a “serious but isolated offence.
5 – Hassan Setamu
Sentamu, who was 17 at the time, was convicted of the murder of schoolgirl Elianne Andam in Croydon, South London.
The attack occurred outside the Whitgift Centre in Croydon, South London, in September 2023, while the victim was on her way to school.
The attack followed an argument among a group of friends over personal belongings, including a teddy bear, after Sentamu ended a relationship with Elianne’s friend. When Elianne’s friend grabbed a bag of his belongings, Sentamu chased after Elianne and launched the fatal attack.
The court heard that Sentamu had a history of aggressive behavior, attacking girls, and had previously been cautioned for taking a knife to school.
Sentamu was charged with murder and having an article with a blade or point in public, later admitting to the charge of manslaughter but denied murder, claiming diminished responsibility.
The prosecution rejected the manslaughter plea, arguing that Sentamu’s past and present behavior demonstrated he could exercise self-control and that his condition was not a valid defense for murder.
After a four-week trial at the Old Bailey, the jury found Hassan Sentamu guilty of murder and having a blade in January 2025 and he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years.
The 23-year minimum term was an increase from the 14-year starting point for a 17-year-old offender convicted of murder. The increase was largely due to the aggravating factor of Sentamu taking a knife to the scene with the purpose of using it as a weapon.
4 – James Harding
Running a vast drug empire, Harding and his “loyal right-hand man” Jayes Kharouti were involved in everything from murder plots to drug importation and often used the encrypted EncroChat communication service.
Harding and his accomplice plotted to murder a rival drug courier to steal a large consignment of cocaine and recoup losses. They tried to recruit a hitman, offering £100,000 and providing a gun and ammunition.
Harding instructed that the murder should involve a “double tap” shot to the head and chest. The plot was foiled when police accessed their messages.
Harding was central to a criminal operation that involved discussing the importation of approximately one tonne of cocaine over a 10-week period in 2020. This operation generated an estimated £5 million in profits.
At the time of this new offending, Harding had only been out of prison for four years, having served a sentence of 9 years and 8 months for a leading role in the importation of the Class B drug Methcathinone.
The investigation was one of the largest following the cracking of the EncroChat encrypted messaging service, which provided crucial evidence of their criminal discussions and plans, including the murder plot.
Harding was living a luxury lifestyle in Dubai, claiming to be a high-end watch sales executive, before his arrest at Geneva airport in Switzerland on December 27th, 2021. He was later extradited to the UK in May 2022.
On June 26, 2025, James Harding was sentenced to Life in Prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to murder and conspiring with others to Import cocaine. The judge set a minimum term of 32 years before he can be considered for parole.
3 – Jamie Rothwell
Another leader of a multi-million-pound drug and gun operation exposed through the hacking of the EncroChat encrypted network, Rothwell operated from hideouts in Spain and Portugal and was the head of an organised crime group.
The group trafficked drugs and high-powered weapons across the UK and Europe, orchestrated a drug empire estimated to be worth around £26 million across the UK, Ireland, and other parts of Europe.
His communications revealed his direct involvement in directing and organising acts of extreme violence with messages revealing he had organised a shooting in Warrington as part of a gangland feud.
He was arrested in an apartment in Barcelona, Spain, in May 2020 and subsequently deported back to the UK in 2021 to face trial after the ncroChat platform was cracked by police in April 2020.
Rothwell initially contested the charges and a trial began in July 2024. However, that trial had to be stopped and the jury discharged after he was stabbed and injured in custody.
In February 2025, Rothwell pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to a string of drugs and firearms offences and was sentenced to 43 years in prison, including a four-year extended licence period.
His sentence was part of a larger operation where Rothwell and nine associates were jailed for a combined total of almost 207 years.
2 – Steven Sansom
In December 1998, then aged 19, Sansom robbed and murdered a 59-year-old minicab driver, Terence Boyle. Sansom stabbed Mr. Boyle and cut his throat, stealing £25.
He was sentenced to detention for life, which was the equivalent of a life sentence for a minor at the time, with a minimum prison term set by the Secretary of State set at 14 years.
Sansom was released from this life sentence on licence on December 18, 2019, following a decision by the Parole Board, however this was not the end of his murderous ways.
He and his partner, Gemma Watts, killed 38-year-old Sarah Mayhew at his flat in Sutton, South London, in March 2024, a crime that automatically activated his recall to prison.
The murder was described by the judge as a “bloodthirsty and wicked fantasy,” after they attempted to conceal their crimes which led to a charge of perverting the course of justice.
As he was already on a life licence for his previous murder conviction, Sansom was sentenced to a whole life order, meaning he will never be released from prison.
1 – Elias Morgan
Considered to be one of the most dangerous people arrested in 2025, Morgan was serving time inside HMP Altcourse in Liverpool when, in March 2020, prison officer Lenny Scott found a mobile phone in his cell.
The phone contained evidence of Morgan’s relationship with a female prison officer, Sarah Williams, who was later jailed for misconduct in public office.
Morgan tried to bribe Mr. Scott with £1,500 not to report the phone. When Mr. Scott refused, Morgan threatened him and his family, saying, “I’ll bide my time, but I promise I will get you.”
Almost four years later, on February 8, 2024, Elias Morgan tracked down Lenny Scott, who had since left the prison service.
Morgan shot Mr. Scott six times at close range outside a gym in Skelmersdale, Lancashire, and then fled the scene on an electric scooter. The murder was described by police as a cold-blooded execution.
Morgan was charged with murder, stood trial at Preston Crown Court and after a trial lasting 10-weeks, Morgan was convicted of murder by a jury. A second man, Anthony Cleary, who was accused of assisting in the planning, was cleared of all charges.
On September 2, 2025, Elias Morgan was sentenced to imprisonment for life with the trial judge imposed a minimum term of 45 years that Morgan must serve before he is eligible to apply for parole.
Morgan also has previous convictions for offenses including Theft, Burglary, Conspiracy to Rob, Drugs, and Causing Serious Injury by Dangerous Driving between 2005 and 2016.
Morgan will not be eligible for parole from prison until the year 2070, when he will be 79-years old.
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