A man who murdered his cousin in her own home with an axe has been sentenced to life imprisonment.  

Rita Lambourne was on the phone to her partner on 12 February 2025 at her home in Bexhill-on-Sea, when he heard her telling someone to get out, before he heard banging and the line went dead.

Donald Excell had walked up to her house, holding an axe, and entered through the back door that she always left unlocked for any family members to visit her. He struck her at least four times with the axe, before walking out of the house.

James Fisher, Senior Crown Prosecutor from the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This was an utterly horrendous and violent attack on a defenceless woman in her own home. She had no time to even struggle with her killer; such was the speed with which he launched his attack on her.

“It is truly chilling to see Excell walking to and from the crime scene with the murder weapon, looking completely calm and cold.

“It was clear from the start that this was not a random attack. This was someone who knew the victim left her back door unlocked for family members and Excell took full advantage of that trusting nature in the most appalling way.

“Afterwards, he did everything he could to try and evade justice, carefully disposing of anything from that night that could link him to the murder and continually refusing to take responsibility for what he had done.

“Despite those attempts, we were able to build a strong enough case to bring him to justice. Our thoughts remain with Rita’s family and friends.”

Building the case

CCTV showed a man walking through an alleyway with an axe and CCTV from shops and a bank in the weeks leading up to the murder showed Excell wearing some or all of the clothing that the man was wearing on that night, including trainers that he had purchased just eight months earlier. An expert viewed all the CCTV and concluded that it was probable it was the same person in all the footage.

When police searched Excell’s flat, none of the clothes from that night or the murder weapon were found, but officers did find a stockpile of weapons, including lock knives, machetes and axes.

Seven months after the murder, teenage boys found a bag that had been weighted down in a lake, which contained clothing from that night and the sheath for the axe. Three weeks later, police divers recovered the axe. Excell had purchase this exact type of axe in May 2019 and had it delivered to his home. A pathologist confirmed the dimensions of the blade were consistent with the wounds inflicted on Rita.

A few months prior to the murder, Rita had told a family member that she believed Excell was a “very dangerous person” after she said he had threatened to kill her. Excell had also pleaded guilty to attacking a family member in the summer of 2024.