Shaye Groves

The offence

What the court heard

She was found guilty of murder in Havant, Hampshire, on 17 July 2022. Sentencing remarks 1. Ms Groves, please remain seated for the moment. The jury has convicted you of murdering Frankie Fitzgerald by stabbing him to death in the early hours of 17 July last year. They rejected your defences of self-defence, loss of self-control and diminished responsibility. I am now required to pass the sentence of the court for that murder. 2. You have robbed Frankie's family and loved ones of their son and brother; and his two young children of their father. You ended his life while he was still in his mid-twenties. You have not only taken his life, you have blighted those of his mother, father, siblings and children, for decades to come. Until last week you showed little concern for their suffering, present and future. Your interest was in yourself, not others. The suffering of Frankie's family has been described in statements read to the court this morning. 3. They come from his father Barry Fitzgerald, his mother Roseanne Fitzgerald; from his sister, Karla Smith and from Charlene Scutt, the mother of his two children. No one with any compassion could but be deeply moved by them. The pain, grief and anger you have caused is enduring and unending. His loved ones and children must live with the knowledge that their Frankie has been cruelly taken from them in the prime of his young life, in a futile, unnecessary, self-regarding and shameful attack. 4. How did this happen? The findings I am coming to are ones of which I am sure and which respect the jury's verdict. If I am not sure of something, I will say so. Although important parts of your account at trial were untruthful, not all of it was. You were 26 when you murdered Frankie and are now 27. 5. You had a difficult time as a child. I accept that you were beaten as a young child. To what extent is not clear. You are partially deaf and have worn hearing aids in both ears since the age of 11. At school, you showed violent tendencies both towards yourself and others. You self-harmed as a teenager by cutting your legs. You also threatened others with a scalpel on one occasion and at times carried a knife during your teenage years. 6. Aged 13 or 14, you were referred for a mental health assessment and diagnosed, probably wrongly, with bipolar affective disorder. You started using alcohol and drugs, intermittently. You left home early, in your mid-teens, and started a relationship in which there was some abuse; to what…

Around this case

• Winchester Crown Court
• Prosecuted by CPS Wessex
• Investigated by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary