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Shaye Groves was a fan of true crime documentaries.
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Frankie Fitzgerald was murdered in 2022.
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Groves stabbed her boyfriend to death.
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The 27-year-old murderer will spend more than 20 years in prison.
(NewsReady.com) – True crime is one of the most popular genres of television, movies, books, and podcasts. YouGov found half of all Americans say they enjoy true crime. Forty-five percent of people said they consumed content inspired by serial killers, making it the second most popular subgenre.
Shaye Groves was one of those fans across the pond. She was allegedly obsessed with true crime documentaries — and she decided to make herself the star of one of those films.
Violent Murder
In July 2022, the body of 25-year-old Frankie Fitzgerald was found inside a home in Hampshire, England, where Groves lived. Law enforcement arrested the then-26-year-old woman, charging her with murder. Lauren White, then-26, was also charged in connection with the crime for failing to provide police with the pin number for an electronic device.
According to BBC, prosecutor Steven Perian KC told a jury that Groves murdered her boyfriend in a fit of rage when she discovered he was messaging a 13-year-old child on Facebook. The attorney said the suspect used information she learned watching true crime documentaries. Fitzgerald died after Groves slit his throat, then stabbed him in the chest 17 times.
When law enforcement arrived on the scene, the suspect told them she killed her boyfriend after he attacked her. Groves claimed she was a victim of sexual assault. The prosecution claimed she filmed herself having sex with Fitzgerald, then edited them, so it appeared he was raping her. However, Perian said the original footage showed the intimate acts were consensual.
In the wake of the murder, Fitzgerald’s family released a statement mourning their loved one. The Daily Mail reported the family said he was a “loving father, brother, and son.” And they “will miss his kindness, his happy smile and the fun person that he was.”
Justice Served
During the trial, prosecutors revealed Groves had framed photographs of serial killers on her wall. One of the photos of murderers on her wall was Myra Hindley, who was convicted of murdering several people from July 1963 to October 1965. Hindley and her boyfriend, Ian Brady, committed what became known as the “Moors Murders.” They buried the bodies of their victims on Saddleworth Moor in the UK.
In mid-February, Groves went to trial and was found guilty of murder. A week later, the court sentenced her to a minimum of 23 years in prison during a hearing at the Winchester Crown Court.
Copyright 2023, NewsReady.com
