WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:05.000
This episode may contain content of a
graphic nature, including descriptions of physical and

2
00:00:05.120 --> 00:00:10.480
sexual violence against adults, children,
and animals. Listener discretion is advised.

3
00:00:12.679 --> 00:00:18.000
Hi everyone, I'm Tanya and I'm
Talia and we are Crimes and Consequences,

4
00:00:18.079 --> 00:00:38.759
a true crime podcast. Hi Talia, Hi Tania. How are you today?

5
00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:41.280
Today's a good day. How are
you? I'm doing pretty good.

6
00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:46.439
I would like to welcome everyone back
to another exciting episode of Crimes and Consequences.

7
00:00:47.240 --> 00:00:50.240
And before we get to the story
today, I would just like to

8
00:00:50.240 --> 00:00:54.640
remind everyone to please hit this subscribe
and follow button. Yes on whatever app

9
00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:59.520
you're listening to, doesn't matter.
So our story is set in Portslaid,

10
00:01:00.039 --> 00:01:04.640
East Essex, England, where a
beautiful young woman hey had begun her adult

11
00:01:04.680 --> 00:01:10.239
life. Shana Grice was born in
nineteen ninety seven and was an only child

12
00:01:10.280 --> 00:01:15.200
to Sharon and Richard Gryce. Sharon
describes her daughter as beautiful, bright,

13
00:01:15.480 --> 00:01:19.519
bubbly, and kind natured. Shana
was known to make friends easily. Everyone

14
00:01:19.560 --> 00:01:25.640
just loved her and she was really
enthusiastic about life. Now that's nice.

15
00:01:25.799 --> 00:01:29.680
Yeah. She loves spending time with
her grandparents and she was really close to

16
00:01:29.719 --> 00:01:33.760
them. There isn't much more information
about Shana's past, but she was clearly

17
00:01:33.799 --> 00:01:38.400
loved by her friends and family.
In the summer of twenty fifteen, Shana

18
00:01:38.480 --> 00:01:44.000
started her first job as an office
receptionist at Brighton Fire Alarms. So how

19
00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:47.799
old is she about this time?
She's eighteen. It was her first job.

20
00:01:48.480 --> 00:01:52.599
Shana was super excited about her new
job and was eager to start saving

21
00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:56.159
for her wedding with her boyfriend.
Yeah, she's gonna be getting married.

22
00:01:56.359 --> 00:01:59.920
She had this boyfriend three and a
half years. His name is Ashley Cook

23
00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:05.920
and he went by ash Shana's friendliness
was contagious and she soon became good friends

24
00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:09.560
with one of her new coworkers,
twenty six year old Michael Lane. Michael

25
00:02:09.719 --> 00:02:16.240
quickly became infatuated. He was attracted
to her, and he had no problem

26
00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:23.719
letting everyone, including Shana No.
Shana was flattered by the attention and had

27
00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:28.479
also kind of developed an attraction to
Michael two. They started seeing each other

28
00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:30.479
for a few months, and during
this time I thought she's engaged. She

29
00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:35.560
was, but she's eighteen, So
Shana was torn between these two men in

30
00:02:35.599 --> 00:02:38.719
her life. In December of twenty
fifteen, Shana made her decision and broke

31
00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:44.159
things off with Michael. But Michael
wasn't going to let things end with Shana

32
00:02:44.319 --> 00:02:49.360
so easily. He wanted to win
her back. Right on her nineteenth birthday,

33
00:02:49.639 --> 00:02:53.280
Michael sent Shana a bouquet of flowers
to her work with a note that

34
00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:58.280
said happy Birthday, Love you.
Shana, being uncomfortable with the gift,

35
00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:02.520
reported the incident to her boss and
later had a meeting with her HR manager

36
00:03:02.560 --> 00:03:08.240
and Michael to discuss the inappropriate behavior
that was making her uncomfortable. Michael had

37
00:03:08.280 --> 00:03:13.240
stopped after this meeting for a little
bit, but he started back up again.

38
00:03:13.840 --> 00:03:17.520
His attempt to win Shana back escalated. One day, Shana went out

39
00:03:17.520 --> 00:03:22.439
to her car after work to find
the tires on her car slash off shit.

40
00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:25.759
Then, conveniently, Michael popped out
of nowhere and offered to help change

41
00:03:25.759 --> 00:03:30.639
her tires. That is very convenient. Yeah. Then a few days later,

42
00:03:30.280 --> 00:03:36.159
Shana's fiancee, Ash came out to
his car to find it had been

43
00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:39.719
keyed. Oh there's also a note
left on his car and it read quote,

44
00:03:39.879 --> 00:03:45.319
dear Ash, Shana has and always
will cheat on you. Happy New

45
00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:50.000
Year. Oh all right, I
know. Shana made her first complaint of

46
00:03:50.039 --> 00:03:55.039
Michael's behavior to the Sussex Police on
the eighth of February twenty sixteen. When

47
00:03:55.039 --> 00:03:59.240
Shana called, she stated quote,
I really don't know how to start this

48
00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.879
conversation, but I think I'm being
stalked. She went on to tell the

49
00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:09.000
police about Michael's recent behavior, like
over the last six months, which included

50
00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:12.840
him standing outside of her house.
So this has been six months now.

51
00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:17.560
He was hiding behind walls watching her, and hiding behind walls or at work,

52
00:04:17.920 --> 00:04:21.040
yeah, or like outside and maybe
her house there might have been walls

53
00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:27.720
outside, but he was hiding watching
her. And then her car was constantly

54
00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.720
being damaged in some way. Well, she didn't know for sure that Michael

55
00:04:30.920 --> 00:04:33.759
was the one damaging her car.
I'm going to tell you he probably was,

56
00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:35.920
right, I mean, she had
a strong feeling it was him.

57
00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:41.279
It doesn't with ash, right,
I mean, it just doesn't keep happening

58
00:04:41.319 --> 00:04:45.399
over and over. The police went
out in search to find Michael, and

59
00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:47.879
when they found him, they gave
him words of advice like stay away from

60
00:04:47.879 --> 00:04:54.399
Shana, and then the case was
closed and Michael did leave Shana alone for

61
00:04:54.439 --> 00:04:58.480
a little while, But it didn't
take long for the harassment to start up

62
00:04:58.519 --> 00:05:02.639
again, and is he around like
nineteen twenty six, twenty six Yeah.

63
00:05:02.680 --> 00:05:06.360
About a month later, on March
twenty fourth, twenty sixteen, the police

64
00:05:06.360 --> 00:05:13.000
were alerted to another incident between Shana
and Michael. Ash's mother called the police

65
00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:16.439
as Michael had assaulted Shana. He
assaulted her, Yeah, when he came

66
00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:19.759
over to her house that night.
Shana had went out with a group of

67
00:05:19.759 --> 00:05:25.120
friends and when she got home,
her roommates came home later, and when

68
00:05:25.160 --> 00:05:29.000
they came home, Michael was with
them. What I know. With the

69
00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:33.120
previous incidents still on her mind,
Shana was annoyed that Michael had come to

70
00:05:33.240 --> 00:05:36.600
her house and it's like I would
be like with my roommates, what are

71
00:05:36.600 --> 00:05:40.160
we doing now? What are we
doing here? Like I don't want to

72
00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:45.040
know him stalking me? Yeah,
exactly. Michael and Shana got into a

73
00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:48.519
verbal argument and Shana ended up leaving. As she was walking down the street,

74
00:05:48.680 --> 00:05:53.600
she noticed that Michael was behind her
and had followed her out of the

75
00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:58.160
house. Shana got her cell phone
and she was on the phone with Ash

76
00:05:58.199 --> 00:06:03.240
when Michael grabbed her phone and pulled
her hair. Thankfully, some passerbys had

77
00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:08.079
noticed the commotion between the two and
asked Shana if she needed any help.

78
00:06:08.519 --> 00:06:12.759
She said yes and asked them to
take her to her fiancee's house, where

79
00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.759
Ash's mom would then call the police. Okay, that's when it happened.

80
00:06:15.800 --> 00:06:21.439
When the police arrived, Michael was
arrested on suspicion of harassment when the investigating

81
00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:28.680
officer took Shana's statement against standard practice
guidelines, Shana was interviewed in front of

82
00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:31.439
Ash's family, who were comforting her
at the time. She was supposed to

83
00:06:31.439 --> 00:06:36.040
be interviewed alone. Due to the
embarrassment she felt. She felt that she

84
00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.879
couldn't disclose to the officers that she
had a previous intimate relationship with Michael.

85
00:06:42.399 --> 00:06:45.160
I mean, she couldn't do it
because you know, she doesn't want them

86
00:06:45.199 --> 00:06:48.120
all to know. When Michael was
interviewed, he told police how they were

87
00:06:48.199 --> 00:06:53.040
in a relationship and they were supposed
to meet up. Michael went on to

88
00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:59.000
show personal and embarrassing phone messages between
the two were recent. I don't think

89
00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.639
so, but I don't think the
police noticed the dates. Instead of punishing

90
00:07:02.680 --> 00:07:10.279
Michael for the assault, Shana was
given a ninety pound fine for causing wasteful

91
00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.480
employment of police by making a false
report. Stop it. Yes. No.

92
00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:19.079
She was then given words of advice
from the investigating officer and no charges

93
00:07:19.120 --> 00:07:25.399
were filed against Michael for the assault. Unbelievable. One of Shana's friends noted

94
00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:29.800
how this really affected Shana, Like
has happened? If you can't trust the

95
00:07:29.800 --> 00:07:31.720
police, right, right, if
you can't expect them to help you and

96
00:07:31.800 --> 00:07:36.040
protect you. Yeah, she felt
that no one believed her because they used

97
00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:41.040
to date. The police thought Shina
was lying, and as a result,

98
00:07:41.360 --> 00:07:45.639
she just felt defeated. Yeah,
and not only did they think to his

99
00:07:45.680 --> 00:07:48.480
lying, but they'd find her.
Yeah. Found they made her pay a

100
00:07:48.600 --> 00:07:54.600
fine, right, accusing her doing
something wrong. So, because she didn't

101
00:07:54.639 --> 00:07:58.199
have the support from the police,
she set up a system between her friends

102
00:07:58.199 --> 00:08:01.079
and family where they would kind contact
each other if they were unable to get

103
00:08:01.120 --> 00:08:05.600
a hold of Shana for her right
being proactive. Right, She learned that

104
00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:11.240
every embarrassing text or image she had
ever sent to Michael was saved on his

105
00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:16.319
phone and he was prepared to use
those against her to get his wife photos.

106
00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.480
Yeah. After the assault, Shana
quit her job at Brighton Fire Alarm.

107
00:08:20.759 --> 00:08:24.759
Yeah, I would too. Michael
was also suspended and he resigned from

108
00:08:24.759 --> 00:08:28.879
Brighton Fire Alarms. Shana stayed in
contact with Michael. She may have done

109
00:08:28.920 --> 00:08:33.120
this just to appease him, and
as he was willing to show embarrassing text

110
00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:39.200
to people. That's true, right, so she's probably just right. Shana's

111
00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:43.919
friends and family were worried that she
still had contact with Michael because Michael would

112
00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:48.360
make threats of suicide if Shana stopped
talking to him or seeing him. Her

113
00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:52.720
friends and family grew more concerned every
day and tried to convince Shana, you

114
00:08:52.799 --> 00:08:54.840
just need to stop talking to him. Agreed, Yeah, get back to

115
00:08:54.879 --> 00:08:58.360
your regular life and cut him off. And she did go on with her

116
00:08:58.399 --> 00:09:01.879
life. She was planning or riding
with ash and the pair wanted to start

117
00:09:01.919 --> 00:09:05.399
a family soon after they got married. They really wanted to have a family.

118
00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:09.799
They traveled to Mexico with some friends
for a vacation in an attempt to

119
00:09:09.799 --> 00:09:13.279
take Shane's mind off of everything that
was going on at home and might give

120
00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:18.879
her some peace of mind to Michael's
not around right. On July eighth,

121
00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:22.440
twenty sixteen, Shana decided to take
a stand. She was going to try

122
00:09:22.759 --> 00:09:26.399
and cut off Michael. She still
had some of his belongings at her house

123
00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:30.559
from when they dated. So she
called him and said, you know,

124
00:09:30.639 --> 00:09:33.080
once and for all, you need
to come get your stuff. This is

125
00:09:33.120 --> 00:09:37.200
it. We're done. When Michael
came to get his belongings, he decided

126
00:09:37.240 --> 00:09:41.519
to steal a key to Shana's house, so early the next morning because he

127
00:09:41.559 --> 00:09:46.639
had this key, he got into
her house with the stolen key and made

128
00:09:46.679 --> 00:09:50.120
his way to Shana's room. Shana, who was pretending to be asleep,

129
00:09:50.360 --> 00:09:56.080
had heard footsteps coming from the hallway. She then heard a man breathing and

130
00:09:56.120 --> 00:10:01.440
standing above her. After a few
minutes of watching her sleep, Michael left

131
00:10:01.480 --> 00:10:05.279
the house. Okay, how creepy. She then looked out her window and

132
00:10:05.440 --> 00:10:11.320
clearly saw Michael walking away from her
house. Despite the last incident with Sussex

133
00:10:11.399 --> 00:10:15.320
Police, Shana made a report to
the police, telling them that Michael had

134
00:10:15.320 --> 00:10:20.159
stolen the key to her house and
then he came into her bedroom without permisially

135
00:10:20.200 --> 00:10:24.120
creepy, totally creepy. Shana needed
evidence to prove that Michael was actually stalking

136
00:10:24.200 --> 00:10:28.440
her because the police didn't believe her
that last time, so she decided to

137
00:10:28.480 --> 00:10:33.759
call Michael and record the conversation,
and Michael admitted to stealing the key in

138
00:10:33.799 --> 00:10:39.399
an attempt to see and talk to
her. Shana told Michael this behavior is

139
00:10:39.440 --> 00:10:43.879
completely unacceptable and he was scaring her
roommates. Oh yeah, that's right to

140
00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:46.919
his roommates. Yeah, I mean, she's not the only one in the

141
00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.320
house. She told Michael that he
needed to not only apologize to her,

142
00:10:50.440 --> 00:10:56.960
but he needed to apologize to her
roommates. I would just let it gozeeve

143
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.519
me the fuck alone, I know, Michael said. And he agreed and

144
00:11:01.559 --> 00:11:07.080
said he had no right to trespass
onto her property like that, and he

145
00:11:07.159 --> 00:11:09.159
was scared that he was going to
get in trouble. He told her,

146
00:11:09.480 --> 00:11:13.240
Okay, I'm no longer going to
come to your house at all. And

147
00:11:13.440 --> 00:11:16.320
Shana told him that was probably for
the best because she didn't want to keep

148
00:11:16.360 --> 00:11:22.279
going round and round in this crazy
circle with Michael. Just leave me the

149
00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:28.399
fuck Alonge exactly. I'm getting married, exactly. Michael told Shana he would

150
00:11:28.399 --> 00:11:33.919
return the key, which he did
later that afternoon. However, when he

151
00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:37.279
did come to return it, police
were waiting for him. Oh shit,

152
00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:41.000
yeah, I didn't see that coming
because Shana had given them the phone recording.

153
00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:45.279
Good for her. I'm so proud
of her me too. He was

154
00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:50.840
arrested, but he wasn't charged with
breaking and entering or stocking. He was

155
00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:54.279
merely cautioned about the theft and was
free to go once again. So the

156
00:11:54.360 --> 00:11:58.240
agassi, Okay, don't do that
again. Yeah, just don't do that

157
00:11:58.279 --> 00:12:03.279
again. That works. That never
worked for me. Just don't do it.

158
00:12:03.440 --> 00:12:09.440
Okay, Okay, I'm gonna do
it. On July tenth, a

159
00:12:09.559 --> 00:12:13.960
day after the break in, Shana
called the Sussex Police Department again in regards

160
00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:18.879
to phone calls she was getting.
She asked the operator at the police station

161
00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:22.799
if it was perhaps the police that
we're trying to get in contact with her

162
00:12:24.559 --> 00:12:28.240
about the incident the day before,
but the operator said no, there's no

163
00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:33.960
log of anyone trying to call her
from within the department. The operator investigated

164
00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:37.559
the number that was calling her,
and they looked into where it was coming

165
00:12:37.600 --> 00:12:41.559
from. Oh, they did all
that. Yeah. The operator informed Shana

166
00:12:41.639 --> 00:12:46.879
that the number was registered to a
travel insurance company. It was later found

167
00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:52.559
out that the number was from Michael's
home address, However, Shana was never

168
00:12:52.600 --> 00:12:56.960
told this. Later that same day, Shana called the Sussex Police again to

169
00:12:56.000 --> 00:13:01.799
inform them she was still getting calls
from a withheld number. When she would

170
00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:03.960
answer the phone, all she could
hear was breathing. Just don't answer any

171
00:13:05.039 --> 00:13:07.360
honestly, she told the operator,
I don't answer any numbers. I don't

172
00:13:07.360 --> 00:13:13.039
know either neither. Don't do it. I just don't do it. Shana

173
00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.679
told the operator she believed it was
Michael and she was getting really scared.

174
00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:22.759
The operator told Shana they would notify
the officer who had dealt with the break

175
00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:28.039
in the previous day. Unbeknownst to
Shana, Michael had placed a tracker on

176
00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:33.600
her car so he could follow her. He would return to replace the batteries

177
00:13:33.799 --> 00:13:37.440
every ten days. Wow. One
day, when she was driving, she

178
00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:41.840
looked in a rear room mirror and
saw Michael was behind her. Michael would

179
00:13:41.879 --> 00:13:46.080
also appear at pubs or clubs she
was at with her friends, and you

180
00:13:46.120 --> 00:13:50.320
know, he would just pops everywhere. Yeah, he's just leaving her alone.

181
00:13:50.360 --> 00:13:52.320
He's not leaving her alone, but
he's not doing anything where she can

182
00:13:52.360 --> 00:13:58.519
get him in trouble exactly. He's
just being creepy, creepy stalker. On

183
00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:05.399
July twelfth, sixteen, Shana called
the Sussex Police again to report that Michael

184
00:14:05.440 --> 00:14:09.440
had followed her while she drove to
work. The police deam the situation to

185
00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.559
be low risk, and they really
didn't do a whole lot on August fourth,

186
00:14:13.600 --> 00:14:16.399
so this is probably a couple of
weeks later, Shana looked out her

187
00:14:16.399 --> 00:14:20.480
window to once again see Michael standing
out in front of her house. That's

188
00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:24.759
terrifying, as nothing was being done
by the police. Shana told her friend,

189
00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:26.919
who was with her at the time, that she feared that if she

190
00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:31.639
reported it to the police again,
they wouldn't believe her. I agree,

191
00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.440
I know. She told her friend
that she thought the police would think she

192
00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:39.440
was just blowing stuff out of proportion. Her friend tried to convince her to

193
00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:43.159
report this to the police and even
said that they had to believe her this

194
00:14:43.200 --> 00:14:46.279
time because she had someone now to
back up her story. I mean,

195
00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:50.360
her friend's there, she sees Michael's
got a witness. Right. After many

196
00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:54.399
attempts to commence Shana to go to
the police, she decided not to call

197
00:14:54.440 --> 00:15:00.279
them. In the span of six
months, Shana had called the police five

198
00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.679
times to report the harassment she was
enduring. And how many times didn't she

199
00:15:03.759 --> 00:15:07.840
call them that? I know,
right? And they never took her serious

200
00:15:09.600 --> 00:15:13.360
During the months of harassment, Shana's
mother, Sharon, noticed a difference in

201
00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:18.879
her daughter. She said that Shana
was usually bubbly and bright, but after

202
00:15:18.919 --> 00:15:24.120
all this started, she just seemed
tired and she just looked run down and

203
00:15:24.240 --> 00:15:30.799
defeated. Right, yeah, yeah, And August twenty six, twenty sixteen,

204
00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:35.279
so about three weeks after he was
standing outside her home, Shana failed

205
00:15:35.320 --> 00:15:39.600
to turn up to work. Her
co workers were aware of the situation with

206
00:15:39.639 --> 00:15:45.639
Michael, so they were instantly worried
about Shana. Co workers called the police

207
00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:48.799
and Ash her fiance to let them
know that Shana didn't come to work that

208
00:15:48.919 --> 00:15:54.039
day. Reports from Shana's neighbors said
that smoke was coming from her house.

209
00:15:54.960 --> 00:16:02.519
Ashcot in contact with Shana's father and
he ran over to Shana's house. When

210
00:16:02.559 --> 00:16:04.639
he got there, he broke down
the door to get inside, and he

211
00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:08.279
tried to find Shana. Well,
what about her roommates too, right,

212
00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.879
maybe they were all at work too, Oh, yeah, because she didn't

213
00:16:11.879 --> 00:16:14.919
show up from Yeah, she didn't
show up for work. When Ash's father

214
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.879
got into the house, he was
met with a haze of smoke and he

215
00:16:17.960 --> 00:16:22.519
just started yelling for Shana. When
he made his way to Shana's bedroom.

216
00:16:22.600 --> 00:16:26.759
He found her lying face down in
her bed, covered in blood. Her

217
00:16:26.840 --> 00:16:30.480
room was just filled with smoke.
Two fires had been set in Shana's room,

218
00:16:30.639 --> 00:16:33.639
one on her bed and the other
on the carpet in her room in

219
00:16:33.639 --> 00:16:40.120
an attempt, probably to mask the
crime. A box of matches in some

220
00:16:40.159 --> 00:16:44.720
flammable liquid was found in the room, which were believed to be what was

221
00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:48.279
used to start the fire. An
autopsy of Shana's body showed that her throat

222
00:16:48.320 --> 00:16:53.240
had been slit and she bled to
do And before I tell you the rest

223
00:16:53.279 --> 00:17:12.720
of the story, we're going to
take a break. When the police began

224
00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:18.720
their investigation into Shane's murder, it
didn't take them long to focus on Michael.

225
00:17:18.839 --> 00:17:21.799
Yeah. I would assume it's a
no brainer, right with all of

226
00:17:21.839 --> 00:17:26.960
the incidents that were reported to the
police, and he became suspect number one.

227
00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:33.559
The day before Shane's murder, CCTV
footage found that Michael purchased gas at

228
00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:37.559
a gas station. The footage also
saw Michael walking towards Chana's house, and

229
00:17:37.880 --> 00:17:42.119
after her murder, her credit card
was used by him to withdraw sixty pounds

230
00:17:42.279 --> 00:17:48.079
from her account. When Braden for
questioning later that day, Michael initially lied

231
00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:52.359
about his whereabouts and yeah, wasn't
He just denied any involvement with her murder.

232
00:17:52.359 --> 00:17:57.200
I mean, obviously people are fucking
liars after murders. Yeah, especially

233
00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:02.319
murderers. After being in terror gated
for a bit, Michael changed his story.

234
00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:06.559
He claimed that that morning he had
gone over to Shane's house and found

235
00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:07.960
the door was wide open. Oh, he just happened to be in the

236
00:18:08.000 --> 00:18:11.799
neighborhood. That just happened to be
in the neighborhood. When he went inside,

237
00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.759
he found Shane's body. He claimed
that he was in shock and he

238
00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:21.119
was terrified, so he left without
calling the police, because that's normal.

239
00:18:21.279 --> 00:18:23.519
I know, you find someone murdered. Nope, I'm not calling the police.

240
00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:26.759
I'm just horrified. He told police
that he was afraid that he was

241
00:18:26.799 --> 00:18:30.960
going to be accused of committing the
crime. Oh yeah, which is also

242
00:18:30.079 --> 00:18:34.359
why he didn't call them. Police
asked him about the gasolene he was caught

243
00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:38.279
buying the day prior to her murder, and he told believes that he was

244
00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:44.359
just so distraught over their breakup with
China a year ago that he intended on

245
00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:48.680
killing himself by setting himself on fire. Okay, that's at all. No,

246
00:18:48.920 --> 00:18:52.839
come on, who does that?
Nobody? Nobody, well, some

247
00:18:52.880 --> 00:18:59.240
people, come on now. When
police asked why Michael used Shane's ATM card

248
00:19:00.279 --> 00:19:04.759
discovering her body, because that's a
good fucking question, right, he told

249
00:19:04.759 --> 00:19:08.880
police that he left her house and
didn't want to believe what he discovered,

250
00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:14.119
so he went to a nearby gas
station to check a lottery ticket that he

251
00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.200
had purchased. When he was checking
his ticket, he decided to pay himself

252
00:19:18.240 --> 00:19:22.599
back for some gifts he had purchased
for Shana. This is they were step.

253
00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:26.640
I know. I was so shocked
and terrified by finding a murder that

254
00:19:26.720 --> 00:19:30.319
I went to the gas station to
check my lottery numbers, and then I

255
00:19:30.359 --> 00:19:33.680
thought, oh, you know what, I'm going to pay myself back.

256
00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.240
I can't do stupid today for the
gifts I bought the dead girl. Come

257
00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:41.599
on, I can't do this stupid. Come on, this is just ridiculous.

258
00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:44.440
It's great that I would have been
sitting there like, are you fucking

259
00:19:44.519 --> 00:19:48.359
kidding me? As a cop?
Can you imagine? Oh? I know.

260
00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:52.319
With the evidence the investigators were able
to compile against Michael, he was

261
00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:59.559
arrested for Shana's murder. Body language
experts looked over the footage of Michael when

262
00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:03.960
he was being interrogated by police,
and they found that Michael unknowingly gave away

263
00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:07.920
his lies by the way he was
acting. They said that rather than looking

264
00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:11.839
like a grieving axe who lost someone
they loved, he was acting like a

265
00:20:11.920 --> 00:20:18.240
child throwing a tantrum. In a
documentary called Faking It Tears of a Crime,

266
00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:22.960
Cliff Lansley, who was one of
these body language experts, he watched

267
00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.160
the interview footage and this is what
he had to say about Michael's behavior.

268
00:20:26.640 --> 00:20:32.480
Quote, he is faking sadness.
The facial expression is characterized by the brows

269
00:20:32.519 --> 00:20:36.880
being slightly down and the chin is
forced up into a pout, almost like

270
00:20:36.880 --> 00:20:41.799
a sulking child. Sadness doesn't look
like that. Sadness is eyebrows up and

271
00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:49.759
the corners of the mouth down to
self if I ever needs Yeah. So

272
00:20:49.880 --> 00:20:53.279
Michael's arrested and he's going to go
on trial, and in the time before

273
00:20:53.319 --> 00:20:57.039
the trial, it was discovered that
Shana was not the first person he had

274
00:20:57.079 --> 00:21:02.960
stopped and harassed. I'm not exactly. In twenty ten, Michael was arrested

275
00:21:02.960 --> 00:21:07.119
for allegedly grooming a fourteen year old
while he was volunteering as a Scout leader.

276
00:21:07.359 --> 00:21:11.680
And this is six months prior,
so he's about twenty exactly. That's

277
00:21:11.680 --> 00:21:14.559
just gross. He's a Scout leader. Yeah, he's a Scout leader.

278
00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:19.039
Michael didn't end up getting charged with
the incident, but police did put a

279
00:21:19.079 --> 00:21:25.519
marker on his record. Yeah,
okay, some marker because when she's complaining.

280
00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:30.519
This didn't stop Michael from applying and
becoming a Scout assistant in twenty fifteen.

281
00:21:30.640 --> 00:21:37.079
Oh, that's that's nice. I
know records of his previous membership were

282
00:21:37.079 --> 00:21:40.519
missed when he reapplied. This was
also missed, like we just said,

283
00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:44.480
when Shana started reporting to the police
that he was harassing her, because maybe

284
00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:48.000
if it had her police for help
would have been taken more seriously. So

285
00:21:48.000 --> 00:21:52.519
I don't understand what this fucking marker. I don't even think nothing. When

286
00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:57.000
the Sussex Police were asked about the
investigation into the allegations that Michael was grooming

287
00:21:57.599 --> 00:22:04.240
that child, they told the public
that the allegation was quickly responded to and

288
00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:11.039
after a thorough investigation, there was
insufficient evidence to get the police to charge

289
00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:15.480
Michael for grooming. The investigation of
Michael's background also found that he had been

290
00:22:15.519 --> 00:22:21.079
targeting young girls trying to find sexual
partners. He would use fake names with

291
00:22:21.160 --> 00:22:26.839
some of them in order to avoid
detection. The police also talked two previous

292
00:22:26.880 --> 00:22:30.880
girlfriends at Michael had and they claimed
he was very controlling in their relationships.

293
00:22:32.519 --> 00:22:38.240
He would often bombard previous partners with
explicit images and messages, asking for sex

294
00:22:38.599 --> 00:22:42.880
and even offering to pay them to
sleep with his girlfriend. Yeah. It

295
00:22:42.920 --> 00:22:48.880
was also reported that Michael would just
hang around outside their house. He harassed

296
00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:52.880
two women in a pub and allegedly
sexually assaulted another. Well that's kind of

297
00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.839
a big deal. Yeah. One
victim, her name was l May,

298
00:22:57.319 --> 00:23:02.799
spoke out about how Michael had and
harassing her for ten years. Ten years.

299
00:23:03.359 --> 00:23:07.000
He would send photos of her bedroom
window oh Man and send her tax

300
00:23:07.160 --> 00:23:11.799
telling her he could see her,
and later she would notice him in a

301
00:23:11.839 --> 00:23:15.680
parked car nearby. What did she
do about it? I don't know,

302
00:23:15.759 --> 00:23:19.839
but she told reporters that she had
met Michael at a camp when she was

303
00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:25.599
younger. He was seven years older
than her. She had noticed some weird

304
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.359
behavior in Michael, like he would
look at her like from the corner of

305
00:23:29.400 --> 00:23:32.880
his eye, but She didn't think
much about it at the time. Then

306
00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:37.319
she began noticing him driving by her
house and she was thirteen, Oh no,

307
00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:45.400
yeah, no, thirteen. Then
he would just show up like out

308
00:23:45.400 --> 00:23:48.039
of nowhere when she was out,
like in the streets or whatever, like

309
00:23:48.119 --> 00:23:52.599
saying, oh, I'll give you
a ride home. When she turned sixteen,

310
00:23:52.839 --> 00:23:56.160
Michael sent Al a message asking if
she would like to go out for

311
00:23:56.200 --> 00:23:59.480
a drink and then go for a
drive. So this is three years later.

312
00:24:00.960 --> 00:24:03.640
She refused the offer because she was
totally freaked out. Yea, and

313
00:24:03.839 --> 00:24:08.200
she blocked him on her social media
cants yeah. He then sent her a

314
00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:15.039
friend request on Snapchat apologized for his
creepy behavior. At last, he recognized

315
00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:19.160
it. Right then he tried to
proposition Al for sex. Okay, there

316
00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:22.240
you go, yeah, and started
sending her the photos of her house over

317
00:24:22.319 --> 00:24:27.240
Snapchat. One night, when All
was out at a local pub with her

318
00:24:27.279 --> 00:24:33.279
boyfriend, she began getting messages from
Michael saying such things as quote, you

319
00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:37.079
shouldn't be with him, you should
be with me. I quote, Al

320
00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:41.440
got a psycho. I know.
El was terrified. Obviously, she was

321
00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:45.279
scared to leave her house because she
knew Michael lived nearby. One day,

322
00:24:45.319 --> 00:24:48.559
she simply just told him she wasn't
interested in him, and then they never

323
00:24:48.599 --> 00:24:52.039
spoke again. He got it,
he got it finally, or he just

324
00:24:52.119 --> 00:24:56.880
moved on to someone else exactly.
Elle says that she wished she had come

325
00:24:56.960 --> 00:25:02.880
forward earlier because maybe Shana could have
been saved. You know, I don't

326
00:25:02.920 --> 00:25:07.079
think she reported any of this to
the police. Police confirmed it. After

327
00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:11.880
Shanah was murdered. Seven women came
forward with similar allegations against Michael, but

328
00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:17.559
unfortunately, none of the reports resulted
in any kind of prosecution. The trial

329
00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:22.200
for Shanah's murder went on for two
weeks. Michael had pleaded not guilty.

330
00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:27.240
During the trial, the jury heard
that Michael tried to hide the sneakers he

331
00:25:27.279 --> 00:25:32.680
was wearing when he murdered Shana in
a field, but find him. Yeah,

332
00:25:32.720 --> 00:25:36.400
he was recognized with someone who had
seen the press release from the police,

333
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:41.160
so they did find the sneakers.
The jury heard how Michael was able

334
00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:44.799
to commit the crime. He knew
Shana's roommates were not going to be home

335
00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:48.279
because they were at work, so
he broke into the house. He had

336
00:25:48.319 --> 00:25:52.920
a knife, possibly from her own
kitchen. The knife was never found.

337
00:25:52.359 --> 00:25:57.759
A neighborhood, yelling from Shanah's place. Ah, so she had become aware

338
00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:03.240
that Michael had gotten to her home. There was a loud argument between the

339
00:26:03.240 --> 00:26:07.680
two. He then came up from
behind Shana and slid her throat, where

340
00:26:07.759 --> 00:26:11.960
she then fell on to the bed
and she was left to die. Michael

341
00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:17.160
stole Shana's credit card to withdraw money. I told you that. And after

342
00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:21.240
withdrawing the money from her account,
he went back to her house with a

343
00:26:21.319 --> 00:26:26.799
bag. He doused her bed and
carpet with gasoline and started really I know,

344
00:26:26.880 --> 00:26:30.200
and he started the fire to try
to get rid of the evidence.

345
00:26:30.799 --> 00:26:33.559
I know, right to go back, yeah, I mean, you could

346
00:26:33.559 --> 00:26:37.039
have been seen by anyone. It's
fucking broad daylight to you, right.

347
00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:40.720
I don't know how close these houses
were, but it doesn't matter. He

348
00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.240
went back, yeah, absolutely.
Then he just left after he set fire

349
00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.640
to her bedroom. The fire didn't
really take hold though, because the oxygen

350
00:26:48.720 --> 00:26:52.880
in the room had depleted, so
it wasn't like a blazing fire when Ash's

351
00:26:52.920 --> 00:26:56.480
dad showed up. Michael then went
home after he killed Chena, and he

352
00:26:56.559 --> 00:27:00.920
tried to dispose of his bloody clothes, and he did manage to get rid

353
00:27:00.960 --> 00:27:04.720
of the murder weapon. Trying to
act like nothing happened. Michael went to

354
00:27:04.759 --> 00:27:10.799
a dunist appointment and to work.
Why not before eventually, I know before

355
00:27:10.799 --> 00:27:15.279
the police eventually picked him up to
question him. During the trial, the

356
00:27:15.359 --> 00:27:18.720
jury also heard how Michael refused to
accept the break up and reportedly told a

357
00:27:18.759 --> 00:27:22.279
friend that quote, she will pay
for what she has done end quote.

358
00:27:22.960 --> 00:27:30.039
Shane's mom testified and just heard how
heartbroken she was, she said, quote.

359
00:27:30.039 --> 00:27:33.640
Shana was a beautiful, bright,
and bubbly, kind natured nineteen year

360
00:27:33.640 --> 00:27:37.440
old who brought joy to all those
who knew and loved her. She was

361
00:27:37.519 --> 00:27:42.000
popular throughout childhood. She made friends
easily and was never grumpy. She loved

362
00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:48.079
life and was always enthusiastic. Much
better person than me. Yeah, I'm

363
00:27:48.119 --> 00:27:53.279
always grumpy. I know That's why
I like you so much. I always

364
00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:57.839
say, have a bad attitude.
After just two hours and twenty minutes of

365
00:27:57.880 --> 00:28:04.279
deliberation, a unanimous decision was made
by the jury and Michael was found guilty

366
00:28:04.559 --> 00:28:08.720
for murdering Shana. During the sentencing, the judge had this to say,

367
00:28:08.920 --> 00:28:14.480
quote everyone in this court heard Shana
speak when the recording of her conversation with

368
00:28:14.559 --> 00:28:18.640
you about the theft of the key
was played, we heard the clear tones

369
00:28:18.720 --> 00:28:22.279
of a confident and vibrant young woman. You robbed Shane of her life and

370
00:28:22.319 --> 00:28:30.240
you have caused grief untold to her
family and friends. Michael was sentenced to

371
00:28:30.279 --> 00:28:33.759
life in prison with the possibility of
parole after twenty five years, which would

372
00:28:33.759 --> 00:28:37.920
be twenty forty one. Because this
is England, so this is England,

373
00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:41.880
they too. The judge called out
the poor investigation work done by the Sussex

374
00:28:41.920 --> 00:28:48.319
Police. He voiced his disgust with
the complete disregard of Shana's concerns and the

375
00:28:48.400 --> 00:28:52.240
lack of care that went into each
report that she had made to the police.

376
00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:56.720
The investigator who had come out and
investigated those early complaints that I told

377
00:28:56.720 --> 00:29:03.599
you about he ended up see gross
misconduct charges due to how he handled the

378
00:29:03.640 --> 00:29:08.799
case. In twenty nineteen, he
told the Police Disciplinary Tribunal that quote,

379
00:29:08.839 --> 00:29:12.359
she would be signing her text to
Michael with five kisses. This is not

380
00:29:12.440 --> 00:29:17.440
harassment. It was a smoke screen
to disguise her affair. There was nothing

381
00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:21.759
there to make me think she was
in any type of danger whatsoever. Endue

382
00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.279
Wow is that true? Yeah?
Well, yeah, I mean he had

383
00:29:25.319 --> 00:29:27.839
these text messages from her Like you
said, I don't know what date they

384
00:29:27.880 --> 00:29:32.279
were from. It might have been
when they first started dating, before he

385
00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:36.799
became creepy. I don't know,
or maybe she's just too nice. Maybe.

386
00:29:37.279 --> 00:29:42.599
While he was found later to have
committed misconduct, the tribunal believed there

387
00:29:42.599 --> 00:29:49.240
just wasn't enough to charge him with
gross misconduct and that officer retired. Her

388
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:53.640
parents just thought this was a joke
and felt that no justice was served for

389
00:29:53.680 --> 00:29:57.440
their daughter. After Shane has murder, many of her friends took to her

390
00:29:57.440 --> 00:30:02.480
Facebook page to share thought and stories
and express how much she will be missed.

391
00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.480
One user said quote, Heaven has
gained such a beautiful angel. I

392
00:30:06.519 --> 00:30:08.920
cannot believe what has happened. You're
such a great soul. End quote.

393
00:30:10.279 --> 00:30:14.880
Another said quote, We'll always remember
those stories you told me about your trip

394
00:30:14.920 --> 00:30:18.200
to Mexico with Joanne ash Scott in
the family. Those moments will never be

395
00:30:18.279 --> 00:30:22.359
forgotten. End quote. Shana had
just touched so many lives and it was

396
00:30:22.480 --> 00:30:29.839
proven all over her Facebook page.
Ash had an interview hours after her body

397
00:30:29.880 --> 00:30:33.680
was discovered, and he told reporters
that just a few hours before she was

398
00:30:33.759 --> 00:30:36.799
murdered, they had a kiss and
a cuddle as he left for work that

399
00:30:36.880 --> 00:30:40.319
morning. He also talked about a
tribute he'd like to get for Shana.

400
00:30:40.440 --> 00:30:44.720
He said she was just really kind
and cared about everyone. After scrutiny from

401
00:30:44.759 --> 00:30:49.359
the public, the Sussex Police issued
an apology to Shana's family and referred them

402
00:30:49.440 --> 00:30:56.759
to the Independent Police Complaints Commission to
conduct an investigation into the handling of the

403
00:30:56.799 --> 00:30:59.680
case of Shana's stocking. And I
told you a little bit about that.

404
00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:03.559
I don't understand why she didn't get
a restraining order or person. I don't

405
00:31:03.400 --> 00:31:07.640
know. I don't either, Maybe
because she just felt like she didn't have

406
00:31:07.759 --> 00:31:11.960
enough proof, like the police weren't
taking her serious. She maybe, I

407
00:31:11.960 --> 00:31:14.559
don't know, it would have been
different people evaluating it. It would have

408
00:31:14.559 --> 00:31:18.839
been yeah, exactly, I don't
know. But just to give you an

409
00:31:18.839 --> 00:31:22.200
idea too of how far reaching it
was in the police department. During the

410
00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:27.039
investigation that went on, thirteen separate
people had a part in Shana's case and

411
00:31:27.480 --> 00:31:30.599
they were all looked at to see
if something could have been done to help

412
00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:36.960
her. In March twenty twenty one, a documentary called Murder in Slow Motion

413
00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:41.559
the Shane of Greys Story was broadcast
on Skycrime Man. It's it's a PC

414
00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:47.079
yeah channel in England, so I
don't know if it's widely available here,

415
00:31:47.160 --> 00:31:51.000
like maybe on Amazon. Yeah,
it would be really good. So very

416
00:31:51.039 --> 00:31:56.440
sad, very off, I knows, I think because maybe she was young.

417
00:31:56.960 --> 00:32:00.680
I don't know. I tried,
Yeah, she tried. Yeah she,

418
00:32:00.880 --> 00:32:07.039
I mean try to be proactive in
her own safety and even reach out

419
00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:08.839
to the police, and nothing saved
her, right, And I'm trying to

420
00:32:08.920 --> 00:32:12.839
think, like, why would they
not take her serious? Oh yeah,

421
00:32:12.880 --> 00:32:15.319
you know, maybe she's young because
she was young and he had these text

422
00:32:15.359 --> 00:32:20.559
messages with kisses or whatever on them, and I'm sure that's why. Yeah,

423
00:32:20.680 --> 00:32:22.079
because I'm sure people, I'm sure
there are people out there that my

424
00:32:22.160 --> 00:32:25.319
false report, right and all my
boyfriend, my ex boyfriend won't le me

425
00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:30.640
yac and then they see text and
they're like mmmmm, I mean I kind

426
00:32:30.640 --> 00:32:32.319
of get it, but still they
should have really done a more thorough job.

427
00:32:32.599 --> 00:32:37.279
I agree. And it's too bad
because she lost her life over it

428
00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:39.839
because he was a fucking nut job
and he lost his life too, Yeah,

429
00:32:39.880 --> 00:32:45.759
exactly, And who knows the ramifications
for their friends and family too.

430
00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:50.480
It's just saying all around, yeah, thanks for the Spitzer. I'm sorry.

431
00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:52.960
They're all pissers. They're all pissers, every single one of them.

432
00:32:53.119 --> 00:32:58.359
Ye. Thank you everyone for listening. Yes, thank you Tanya for sharing

433
00:32:58.400 --> 00:33:00.880
this story. You're very welcome.
And in case you haven't done so,

434
00:33:01.000 --> 00:33:06.200
please hit the subscribe or follow button. Please please, please please it helps.

435
00:33:06.559 --> 00:33:12.359
If you would like more episodes that
are not released to the public,

436
00:33:12.440 --> 00:33:16.920
I know who wouldn't really, I
would want to join Patreonatreon dot com slash

437
00:33:16.960 --> 00:33:22.960
tnt crime exactly, or you can
go to the Apple podcast app if that's

438
00:33:22.960 --> 00:33:27.799
how you listen, and you can
subscribe there. It's the same episodes as

439
00:33:27.880 --> 00:33:31.039
what is on Patreon. You go
to our website, Crimes and Consequences dot

440
00:33:31.039 --> 00:33:37.960
com. You can find us on
Facebook or Instagram or and Instagram at Hardcore

441
00:33:38.000 --> 00:33:43.240
True Crime on both and I think
that's it. I think that's it all

442
00:33:43.319 --> 00:33:47.319
right to me until our next episode, don't kill each other. Bye,