Teenager Receives Life Sentence for Brutal AI-Chatbot Assisted Murder
Tristan Roberts, an 18-year-old from Prestatyn, North Wales, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the brutal murder of his mother, Angela Shellis, a 45-year-old teaching assistant. The horrific crime followed extensive planning that included seeking advice from an artificial intelligence chatbot about murder methods.
Chilling Plot Revealed Through Digital Evidence
Roberts, who lived with his mother, plotted the killing for at least three weeks before carrying out the attack in October last year. He boasted on social media platform Discord about planning an "American Psycho"-style murder and repeatedly consulted AI assistant DeepSeek about whether to use a hammer or knife for the crime.
The violent assault began around 11pm and continued until 3:30am, after which Roberts led his injured mother outside under the pretence of taking her for medical help. Instead, he took her to an isolated area near a nature reserve in Prestatyn and shattered her skull with a hammer. Her body was discovered beside a footpath the following day.
Family's Desperate Pleas for Help Ignored
Following the sentencing at Mold Crown Court, Angela Shellis's sister Sarah Gunter and older son Ethan have spoken out about the family's repeated attempts to secure mental health support for Tristan. Sarah revealed that just fourteen months before the murder, her sister had written to their local health board stating: "I will not give up fighting for my son. I will not lose him to mental health/criminality or worse."
Sarah, 44, expressed frustration with mental health services, saying: "My strength is I want these people held accountable. CAMHS, social services. Their job is to protect people, to help people who need help, and they didn't do it."
Disturbing Details Emerge During Trial
The court heard that Roberts recorded the entire attack on a dictaphone and had forced a balaclava over his mother's head before leading her to the nature reserve. Two days before his eighteenth birthday, he had asked the AI chatbot whether someone who drank "enough whisky and Coke" would be able to defend themselves.
Sarah described how just weeks before the murder, Angela had been excitedly planning a low-key birthday celebration for her son involving whiskies and Coke, a takeaway, and watching his favourite television series Dexter, which features a serial killer protagonist.
Pattern of Concerning Behavior Ignored
Ethan recalled asking his mother: "What is it going to take for them [the authorities] to see he's not well? How long can this go on?" The family described numerous concerning incidents including Tristan disappearing during a visit to his father and being found sleeping on a town centre bench after frantic searches.
During a caravan holiday to Scotland with his mother and aunt, Tristan "flipped" during an argument over a mobile phone. Sarah recounted: "He was punching her on the head and I had to go into her bedroom and drag him off."
Systemic Failures in Mental Health Support
Despite being admitted to Glan Clwyd hospital in Rhyl following the Scotland incident, Tristan was placed on a children's ward rather than a psychiatric unit. Sarah described meetings with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) workers and social services where she and Angela would "literally scream, 'He needs help'" only for professionals to believe Tristan when he claimed to be fine moments later.
Ethan noted bitterly: "They believed him. Not the responsible adults, looking after him every day." Denbighshire County Council has referred the case to the North Wales Safeguarding Board and declined to comment further.
Discovery of the Crime and Aftermath
On the day of the murder, Sarah saw a Facebook message about a woman's body being discovered in Prestatyn and immediately feared the worst. Ethan grew concerned when his mother didn't answer her phone and received a suspicious text from her phone claiming she had a sore throat, which he instinctively knew came from Tristan.
When Sarah rushed to the family home with the boys' paternal grandparents, they found the property barricaded with a bookcase at the front door and dining chairs with weights taped to them blocking the back entrance. After forcing her way inside, she found Tristan in the bathroom claiming: "I haven't done anything, leave me alone."
Police later discovered chilling Ring doorbell footage from a neighbour's home showing Angela - limping and leaning on a crutch from recent knee surgery - leaving the house with her son at 3:19am on the night of her murder.
Family's Complex Emotions Following Sentencing
Sarah observed that Tristan showed no remorse during court proceedings, even appearing to smirk at times. She admitted: "There was a point when I just wanted to just get in there and shake him, to say to him, 'What have you done?'"
Ethan expressed conflicted feelings about his brother, stating: "I hope he gets help, but I don't really care." Sarah added: "I can't say I don't love him, I can't bring myself to say that. I'm hoping that in time somebody will see that he does actually need help. I think that's what my sister would want, even after all this."
