A “dangerous” teenager who shot a woman in the head through the front door of her home in east London has been handed a life sentence.
Joshua Alexander, 17, was handed a minimum jail term of 29 years after being found guilty of murdering Lianne Gordon, 42, almost a year ago.
Gordon had just returned from a holiday in Jamaica when she was attacked in Hackney on 5 December 2023. Wearing a balaclava, Alexander shot Gordon through her front door as she tried to shut it in an attempt to protect her children.
When he returned home, Alexander made 65 searches on news sites and social media in relation to the shooting, searching the words “fatal shooting in Hackney” and “Lianne Gordon”.
Alexander was arrested at his home address on 8 December 2023. Officers found class A drugs, a machete, a “burner” phone and drug paraphernalia. A glove seized from the property also had his DNA and firearm residue on it, linking him to the fatal shooting.
While in custody, officers found lyrics in Alexander’s cell that were a self-congratulating outline of the murder and the shootings.
DCI Joanna Yorke, who led the investigation, said: “Alexander is a dangerous individual, who at just 16 years old had no qualms about carrying and using a deadly weapon. We are pleased he has been brought to justice and that he will now spend a significant period behind bars.
“Our thoughts of course remain with the loved ones of Lianne Gordon, a mother of two who was shot dead for reasons we may never fully understand. We know this has been an extremely difficult time and we will continue to offer them our full support.”
Additionally, Alexander was sentenced to 28 years on two counts of attempted murder for shooting at two men as he entered Gordon’s estate. He was also sentenced to 16 years for a separate attempted murder charge, two years for possession of a blade, three years for possession of a firearm and 60 months for two counts of possession with intent to supply cocaine.
Gordon’s 16-year-old daughter previously told the trial that she thought the gunshots that killed her mother were fireworks.
She said: “Mum had her hand on door handle and looked like she was trying to close it. I could see gun tip through the open door. I saw her drop. I went to her.
“As soon as my mum took her last breath and I was still hearing gunshots and that, I opened the front door and I was screaming at him and he stared me directly in my face.
“He did not say anything. Everything happened in slow motion. We were face on for a few seconds, maybe five, before he ran off.”
