A teenager who used artificial intelligence to help plan the murder of his mother has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years and six months. Tristan Roberts, 18, bludgeoned Angela Shellis, a 45-year-old teaching assistant, with a hammer at their home in Prestatyn, North Wales, before killing her at a nearby nature reserve in the early hours of October 24 last year.
Mold Crown Court heard that Roberts recorded the fatal attack on a dictaphone and later boasted online about what he had done. He had asked the AI search engine Deepseek for advice, including 'What is a better weapon for a murder, a hammer or a knife?' and how to remove blood stains. The AI initially refused but provided responses after Roberts claimed he was writing a book on serial killers.
In the weeks leading up to the murder, Roberts posted misogynistic messages on Discord, referring to 'hatred of women' as a motive. He set up a new profile with the username 'Tonight's The Night' and discussed plans to push his mother down the stairs or choke her. The court heard that during the attack, which lasted over two hours, Ms Shellis pleaded with her son to let her go and call 999.
Sentencing him at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Rhys Rowlands said: 'You appear to have revelled in the control you exerted over your own mother. It was on any view a truly awful way for someone to die. It was made all the more dreadful by the fact her attacker was her own son.'
Andrew Thomas KC, prosecuting, told the court that Roberts had a previous conviction for possessing a knife and had recorded the attack as a 'trophy'. The recording captured Ms Shellis screaming as Roberts struck her at least four times with a lump hammer. After killing her, Roberts was heard saying: 'Oh God that was terrifying... That felt so crazy.'
Roberts pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing. The judge imposed a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years and six months before he can be considered for parole.
