Tristan Roberts, 18, has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 22 years and six months for the murder of his mother, Angela Shellis, at their home in Prestatyn, north Wales. The teenager, who expressed misogynistic views and was fascinated with the film American Psycho, carefully planned the attack, researching methods of killing and purchasing weapons including knives, a hammer and an axe.
The killing occurred on the night of 23 October 2025, when Roberts attacked his mother at home, causing bruising and strangulation injuries. He then persuaded her to leave the house, claiming he would take her for medical help. In a nature reserve, he struck her multiple times on the head with a hammer. He recorded both attacks on a dictaphone.
In the weeks before the murder, Roberts posted on Discord about his hatred of women and his intentions, including a still from American Psycho with the message “i got urges.” He also asked an AI chatbot about the best weapon for murder, initially being refused but later obtaining responses after claiming he was writing a book on serial killers.
On the day of the murder, Roberts left a voice note saying he would kill his mother with a sledgehammer, using the alter ego “Alex.” After the killing, he recorded himself saying it was “terrifying” and “crazy.” Police found Shellis’s body in undergrowth with a 100-metre blood trail, along with gloves, a balaclava and her crutch.
Doorbell footage showed Roberts and his mother leaving home at 3.19am, and police believe he kept her prisoner for about four hours. Roberts turned 18 ten days before the attack, which police consider significant as it allowed him to legally buy some of the weapons. When arrested, he appeared calm and asked if the body was his mother, then answered “no comment” to all questions during nine interviews.
Judge Rhys Rowlands described the murder as “a truly awful way for someone to die,” made worse by the fact that the attacker was her son. Shellis’s sister, Sarah Gunther, said she was a “fantastic and fiercely supportive mum.” Andrew Slight of the Crown Prosecution Service noted the “elaborate and calculated” planning and Roberts’s lack of remorse.
