Man who murdered cousin with axe in East Sussex jailed for life

A man found guilty of murdering his cousin with an axe in East Sussex has been jailed for life.

Donald Excell, 49, "fatally wounded" 58-year-old Rita Lambourne at an address in Bayencourt South, Bexhill, East Sussex, on February 12, 2025.

Excell, of Seabourne Road, Bexhill, was convicted of her murder at Hove Crown Court last December. He was also found guilty of having an offensive weapon in a public place.

Today, he was handed a life sentence with a minimum of 31 years behind bars.

Excell went into the house through an unlocked back door before striking Ms Lambourne with an axe at least four times.

For the majority of the murder investigation, police were unable to find the axe, or the clothes the killer was seen wearing on CCTV.

In September 2025, 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.

During the trial, the court heard that Ms Lambourne had been on the phone with her partner moments before the attack, and that he heard shouts as she dropped her phone.

He called Ms Lambourne's daughter Lucy, who in turn called her aunt - and Ms Lambourne's sister - Claire Haldane, to go and check on Ms Lambourne.

• Jurors watched CCTV in court, in consecutive order which shows, colour footage of Donald Excell in a shop days before the murder, black and white footage of the murderer - entering and leaving with axe in his hand. Excell disputes that it was him in the CCTV. Credit: Sussex Police.

Ms Haldane discovered her sister in the front room of her house and started CPR.

Lucy Lambourne remembered her aunt saying: "Oh my god, you need to get down here, mum's been smashed up, love, call an ambulance."

Sussex Police Detective Chief Inspector Alex Campbell described the case as "extremely distressing", adding the sentence "reflects the seriousness of Excell's actions".

He said: "We hope this outcome provides some measure of closure for those who loved Rita.

"Our thoughts remain firmly with her family, and we thank them for their courage, patience and dignity throughout this incredibly difficult time."

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