Donald Excell, 49, plunged the axe into his cousin Rita Lambourne as she sat in her own living room.
Excell calmly and determinedly walked into the house before swinging the axe into her chest.
She had described her cousin Donald as a crazed maniac.
Excell claimed his family were involved in covering up a paedophile ring.
A jury in Hove took just over four hours to convict him of murder.
There were gasps from the public gallery when the verdicts were delivered.
Excell showed no emotion.
Her Honour Judge Christine Henson KC said: “The only sentence for murder is life.
“The minimum term is something I will need to set.”
Excell will be sentenced in the New Year.
Simon Geldhill for the Crown said: “With chilling brutality and ruthless efficiency he struck Rita Lambourne four times with that axe.
“The blow to her chest was delivered with such force, the blade passed through her skin, fat, muscle and ribs, going straight into her heart.
“There is no doubt it was his intention to kill her.
“No one could have survived that injury.
“Then as cooly and calmly as he had walked in, he walked out again leaving Rita lying on her living room floor.”
Rita Lambourne, described as ‘adored’ by her family, was found when worried partner Ashley Pamahandeh Kafifar contacted family asking them to check on her.
Ashley and Rita were talking when he heard her drop the phone and shouted at somebody to Get out.
“It was a normal conversation,” Mr Gledhill said.
“Until, that is, without notice or warning, it sounded to Ashely as if she dropped the phone and she was telling someone to get out and the sound of banging.
“He shouted her name down the phone for about five minutes before he ended the call.
“At that stage was what he did not know was that during the conversation he was having with Rita, Donald Excell has quite calmly, quite determinedly walked up to her house carrying an axe,” Mr Gledhill said.
The entire incident was over in under three minutes, jurors were told.
A police search of his flat found Donald Excell had a collection of bladed weapons, the court heard.
Officers found ring knives, lock knives, axes and machetes.
A group of boys found a bag containing a sheath for an axe and a sandbag.
“The pond where the bag was found was subsequently searched by police officers.
“On 4th October 2025 an axe was found,” Mr Gledhill said.
“That axe has been identified to be a Gransfors Brux Small Forest Axe; the sheath that had been found in the bag recovered by the boys from the same lake was identified to be for that type of axe.”
Financial records showed Donald Excell had bought the same axe in 2019.
A pathologist found the fatal wounds were consistent with an axe with the same blade.
“The prosecution says all of that information combined drive you to the conclusion that the bag, the clothes, the axe sheath and the axe were discarded in that pond by Donald Excell with the intention of no one ever finding them because he had used them in the murder,” Mr Gledhill said.
Donald Excell and Rita Lambourne were cousins, the court head.
“It seems Rita Lambourne and Donald Excell had got on relatively well until around 2022 when there had been a falling out,” Mr Gledhill said.
Donald Excell came to believe their grandfather had sexually abused another cousin and the family had covered it up.
“He believed that the family had covered the sexual abuse up and that they were, in effect, facilitating a paedophile ring.
“He believed that Rita was involved in this,” Mr Gledhill said.
In summer 2023 Donald Excell appears to have confronted Rita Lambourne about this and threatened to kill her, Mr Gledhill told the jury.
Rita sent a message to another family member a year later.
Mr Gledhill read the message to the jury: “Last year when I gave Donald a lift to Big Don’s and he suddenly turned on me, so I drove him off as I was worried about big Don. He lost it completely and got right up in my face and was like a crazed maniac!! The things that he was saying were completely and utterly insane…he threatened to kill me but managed to keep calm…it was not a nice experience . I believe that he is a very dangerous person.”
DNA swabs taken from under her fingernails were found to have matches for three men, the court heard.
“The profile from the DNA under Rita’s fingernails was compared to Donald Excell’s DNA profile through an alternative technique based on the experience of a DNA expert.
“Consequently, those findings have to be treated with a degree of caution for reasons that will be explained to you in evidence and in directions of law, but the prosecution say, the findings still have significance.
Donald Excell did not offer an alibi, the court heard.
“When interviewed by the police Donald Excell said nothing,” Mr Gledhill said.
“He didn’t raise a defence, he did not put forward an alibi.
“We subsequently understand that he says he did not kill Rita Lambourne.
“He says it is not him in the CCTV footage from 12th February 2025.
“He has not said to the prosecution where he claims he actually was at the time.”
The fatal stab wounds were inflicted at her home in Bayencourt South just after 10pm on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.
In a statement, her family said: “Rita was a much loved member of the community and was adored by her family and friends.
“Rita’s family would be extremely grateful for any information that can be offered, and would like to request privacy at this difficult time.”
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