Woman killed by flatmate who sent her 40,000 WhatsApps and installed camera in her room
The death of Stephanie Hansen in 2022 involved some gruelling details involving her flatmate, years after they decided to move in together.
It all began when she met colleague Sheldon Rodrigues in the work lunch hall at Heathrow Airport, who was quietly eating alone until she came over and struck up a conversation.
He would later bring up the idea of the pair sharing a bigger house together, instead of having their own small houses in Hayes, West London.
Stephanie's mum, Glenda, said to The Sun: “She was a friend to everyone and anyone who knew her, loved her.”
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But over time, Sheldon became more possessive over his housemate, constantly asking where she was and what she was doing every day, as Stephanie, 39, told loved ones that he was harmless.
She was irritated, though, and her annoyance soon turned into concern when she started a relationship with another colleague at work.
This made Sheldon extremely jealous, as he sent her hundreds of WhatsApp messages every day, declaring his love for her and warning her to stay away from her boyfriend.
But even while he was away, Sheldon knew when Stephanie's boyfriend was visitng, as he planted bugging devices in the house, allowing him to listen to them having sex.
On 30 December 2022, Sheldon returned home from his night shift after Stephanie's boyfriend had gone, and he beat and stabbed her to death while she was sleeping in bed.
A new ITV documentary on the horrific true crime story has been released, titled WhatsApp Obsession: The Murder of Stephanie Hansen.
Her family and police officers expand on Stephanie's friendly nature and her flatmate's obsession with her, as authorities were horrified with what they saw when they arrived at the scene of the crime.
“It was horrific. There were 20 stab wounds and 39 blunt force trauma injuries, which were all centred around her head, face and neck. Blood was everywhere,” DCI Neil John, Metropolitan Police, said.
He admitted: “We didn’t find the knife that caused the stab wounds, but there were blooded fingerprints on a hairdryer and a tower fan in her bedroom which had been used to strike her with.”
Sheldon, 30, blamed the killing on Stephanie's boyfriend, a married father-of-three who had recently started dating her.
“Her boyfriend stayed here two nights ago, when I was at work, on my night shift. He was gone before I finished my shift,” he claimed to detectives.
Glenda said she 'couldn't understand what happened or why' her daughter was found dead, with Stephanie's brother also saying: “There was no one we knew who would do something like this to her. Everyone she knew, loved her.”
The mum recalled: “I remember years ago, Stephanie saying, 'There’s this chap at work and he just sits in the lunch hall and he’s on his own'. She met him in 2015, and she just felt sorry for him.
“I also remember that her phone would be pinging and pinging and I’d say, ‘Who on earth is that?’ And she would reply, ‘Oh, it’s just him. Ignore it.’ She looked after him and he obviously took a shine to her,” the mum said.
Sheldon would bombard her with messages declaring his love, even after she asked him to stop, as DS Brian Jones admitted: “It was endless and it reads like a storyboard, ultimately.”
The flatmate told police that Stephanie's boyfriend had threatened her, but police noted: “The boyfriend was located and volunteered his DNA and fingerprints and gave us his mobile phone,
“Everywhere he said that he went on the day Stephanie was murdered, was the case. He was telling the truth.
“He mentioned that Sheldon was possessive and very jealous and that he had a thing for her.”
Celso recalled that when Stephanie's roommate was on holiday in his home state of Goa, India, he angrily messaged her about a man being home, as she felt like she was being spied on.
Police discovered several devices in the home, some being disguised as plug adaptors, as Sheldon claimed he bought them but never used them.
The frequency and intensity of his messages grew with his jealousy, such as, 'You’re playing with fire here', Whatever you’re up to I don’t want problems coming into the house', 'I’m not going to let it end like this', 'Nobody can come between us'.
However, there were texts which indicated that they had done something in the past, as Sheldon messaged: “Can we just do it 1 more time? That’s all I’m asking for,”
Stephanie replied: “No, you just need to back off and be my friend.”
Her friend, Lucy, confirmed that Stephanie slept with him after returning home drunk from a Christmas party, adding: “She said it was the worst mistake she had ever made.”
Brian explained: “The data on Rodrigues’ handset paints a very clear picture of what he’s been doing through his nightshift, he’s effectively listening to their conversation, listening to them having sex."
He told Stephanie that he may come back for a smoke, as Brian added: "I think it tipped him over the edge and he came home after work in a rage."
Neil added: “A number of forensic swabs were taken from Stephanie for analysis and DNA belonging to Rodrigues, was found on her stomach,
“It’s an unthinkable scenario that something of a sexual nature may have happened pre or post murder. We simply don’t know.”
Sheldon was found guilty of murder and was handed a minimum prison sentence of 25 years on 23 January, 2024.
Topics: True Crime, ITV, WhatsApp, UK News
Joshua Nair