GUILTY UK - Shana Grice, 19, murdered at her Brighton home, 25 Aug 2016

[Alyce]

Lewes Crown Court was told about the number of times Sussex Police were in contact with Michael Lane in the months leading up to the death of Shana Grice.

8 February - Miss Grice contacted police, feared she was being stalked by Mr Lane after receiving unwanted flowers and claiming that her car had been damaged. Mr Lane was warned by the police to stay away from her.

24 March - Mr Lane allegedly snatched her phone and grabbed her hair. He was arrested on suspicion of assault but was later released and Miss Grice was given a fixed penalty notice by the police for wasting their time.

9 July - Mr Lane used a stolen key to enter Miss Grice's bedroom while she slept. He was arrested for theft and given a police caution.

25 August - Mr Lane was arrested on suspicion of murdering Miss Grice after her body was found at her home in Chrisdory Road



http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-39268428

 

[Legally Bland]

I don't seem to be able to copy/paste from this article on mobile, but there's some DNA evidence from yesterday.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1515...with_Shana_beforehand____on_morning_she_died/

 

[Squamous]

Gosh, it's all very confusing, isn't it? Is this sex in a hotel with ML on August 23rd disputed?

 

[Legally Bland]

Back on a pc so can quote.

Kim Edwards, giving evidence at Lewes Crown Court, said the tests and an examination of Miss Grice's body and clothing after she died confirmed a recent liaison between the pair but could not conclusively say when it took place.

It may have been on the morning of her death, or two days before, she said. Jurors were previously told the pair checked into the Langford Hotel in Third Avenue, Hove, and allegedly had sex on August 23.

Ms Edwards said: "We found a complete profile matching Michael Lane. It could indicate sex on August 25 but could equally be on August 23. There are a few possible explanations."

Tests on a plastic smoke alarm found broken into pieces underneath Miss Grice's body and wipes discovered in her room had traces of small amounts of Lane's DNA as well as hers, the court heard.

The mechanic, who used to work at Brighton Fire Alarms testing smoke alarms, told police he changed the battery on the smoke alarm some weeks before, jurors heard.

Ms Edwards said his DNA was not found by the smoke alarm's battery, which she would expect if someone had touched it to change it, but that this could be for several reasons.

The examinations did not confirm Lane had been in the room at the time of Miss Grice's death and samples of DNA from other people were also found on items there.

Ms Edwards added that sometimes DNA can remain undisturbed on items for some time or be transferred through contact so cannot always necessarily place someone at the scene.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1515...with_Shana_beforehand____on_morning_she_died/

 

[Legally Bland]

Bit more from the police interview on the day of the murder.

He went on to tell the detectives how he woke up that morning, showered, and went for a walk from his house in Thornhill Rise and stopped at the McColls in Valley Road to buy a bottle of water, the court heard.

He went back up to his house, had another shower because it was a warm day and he was “sweaty” before changing into his work clothes. He then drove to another McColls shop on Graham Avenue where he checked a lottery ticket from the night before. He had not won.

Then he “sat around” waiting for his dentist appointment in Hangleton Dental Practice in West Way, Hove, and then left his house again, stopping to visit his grandmother.

The jury heard how he called his father while waiting for the appointment to start to talk about a ticket to watch the upcoming Brighton and Hove Albion game and then spokoe to a friend who was in China before going to work.

He arrived at about noon and was asked to fit tyres, test drive a car after a service, check another car which had been stalling.

When officers arrived at 1.50pm to arrest him he was putting a spare tyre in the back of an Audi.

The court heard how he commented “murder” when he heard on what grounds he was arrested, before being put into a police van and taken to Brighton custody centre.

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1515..._the_arrest_of_man_accused_of_Shana_s_murder/

 

[Tortoise]

I'm not sure I could convict on the basis of the evidence presented so far. It seems to be asking the jury to take a leap of faith based on his stalking behaviour, but then other people could have been angry if they discovered Shana and Lane were still seeing each other. Hmm.

 

[Squamous]

I'm sure he is guilty but I agree there hasn't been much that feels like definitive proof. Things like him leaving the note that said "Shana has and always will cheat on you" wasn't great behaviour but it would appear to be factually correct. Also the DNA that the headline said meant they'd had sex on the day she died but the expert actually said it could have been a day or two before, and it looks like Shana and ML definitely did check into a hotel two days before?

He obviously has a changing story for the morning of her murder though.

 

[Alyce]

I agree re the conviction. On what we have heard - which admittedly is only snippets - I could not bring in a guilty verdict, even though he very well may be.

Do we have an estimated time of death ?

We have that 9.15 am sighting of Lane by the vicar,but not clear if Lane was heading towards or away from Shana's house.

If he was heading away, that could fit with him having carried out the murder.
But, in that case, who is the man in hi viz jacket who walked up the path to the house at 9.30am ?


If Lane was on his way towards Shana's house at 9.15 then it is close timing for him to

go and change his top somewhere between 9.15 and 9.30 and for him to be the man in the hi viz jacket, walking up the path at 9.30am
Kill Shana
Start the fire
Depart the house before 9.45am when ACs sister arrives there and calls 999

 

[Tortoise]

I see SRF having a field day with this one.

 

[Squamous]

I see SRF having a field day with this one.

Me too!

 

[Tortoise]

I agree re the conviction. On what we have heard - which admittedly is only snippets - I could not bring in a guilty verdict, even though he very well may be.

Do we have an estimated time of death ?

We have that 9.15 am sighting of Lane by the vicar,but not clear if Lane was heading towards or away from Shana's house.

If he was heading away, that could fit with him having carried out the murder.
But, in that case, who is the man in hi viz jacket who walked up the path to the house at 9.30am ?


If Lane was on his way towards Shana's house at 9.15 then it is close timing for him to

go and change his top somewhere between 9.15 and 9.30 and for him to be the man in the hi viz jacket, walking up the path at 9.30am
Kill Shana
Start the fire
Depart the house before 9.45am when ACs sister arrives there and calls 999

And presumably wash the blood off himself and change clothes before leaving to walk home.

 

[Legally Bland]

Think this is from yesterday.

A MECHANIC accused of stalking and then murdering his ex-girlfriend hid a T-shirt he wore on the morning she was killed, a court heard.

Michael Lane told police officers he “panicked” and “hid” the top when he was released on bail after being questioned over Shana Grice’s murder.

He also told them his relationship with her had been “messing with his head”.

CCTV footage captured Lane, 27, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and shorts at the McColl’s shop in Valley Road, Portslade, just after 8.15am on August 25 last year, Lewes Crown Court heard.

But just over half an hour later he was seen again on CCTV, this time in a striped T-shirt and shorts, at another McColl’s in Graham Avenue.

The body of 19-year-old former Hove Park student Miss Grice was found shortly before 10am on August 25 in her bedroom in nearby Chrisdory Road.

The prosecution argues that Lane slit Miss Grice’s throat before setting her bedroom on fire.

Lane said he went to the dentist in West Way, Hove, for 11am. He was arrested around three hours later while at work at Setyres in London Road, Burgess Hill.

He was released on bail on August 27 and after being taken back into custody on August 31, was asked by police why he did not mention he had changed his T-shirt.

He said: “I don’t know, I was unsure, I didn’t know what was going on. It was all blurring into one.”

He denied knowing where the T-shirt was during the interview on September 1, the court heard.

When asked if he changed his clothes to get rid of evidence, he said he hadn’t. The officers asked him: “As far as you’re aware was there any blood on your T-shirt, your shorts or your trainers?”

He said: “There wouldn’t be any blood on there.”

But then when questioned for the second time, he said he knew where the T-shirt was. He told them: “I don’t like dentists, I was sweating so I was using it to dab myself. I put it in a bin.

He told officers he dumped it in a bin in West Way adding that when he was released he put it in a bin liner and hid it in nearby Greenleas Park.

...

But when his third interview began on August 27 he said he needed to change what he told officers.

He said he had in fact left his house at 8am with the “intention of going to see Shana” and had driven.

When asked why he did not say this earlier he said: “Because it doesn’t look good” adding: “It’s going to come out in the end anyway.”

https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&s...3hzBM1s7Aq85l24eA&sig2=yC1k2eEpTgTuGXMdUQ9xuQ

So it seems​ the 9 - 9.30 sightings would be to do with getting rid of evidence, rather than traveling to/from Shana's house.

This is making a little bit more sense.

 

[Tortoise]

A tentative timeline

7:00 AC leaves for work
7:00 RM-D exchanges messages with Shana
8:00 Lane leaves home in his car to go to Shana's, according to him
8:15 Shana due to leave house if she drives to work and starts at 8:30
8:15 Lane on CCTV white t-shirt and shorts at shop to buy water in Valley Road
8:45 Lane on CCTV striped t-shirt and shorts at shop to check lottery ticket in Graham Avenue
8:45 Shana due to leave house if she drives to work and starts at 9:00
9:15 Father Birks sees Lane wearing a white polo shirt. Minutes later Lane texts him.
9:20? Shana's work or AC raises alarm when Shana does not turn up for work. AC calls sister and asks her to go round and check on her.
9:30 Neighbour sees a white man with short dark hair wearing sleeveless high-viz jacket no shirt on the path between their houses.
9:35? AC's sister arrives and sees bloody footprint on doorstep. Phones her father.
9:45 AC's father arrives, sees smoke coming from house. Gains access with neighbours, having smelt burning through the letter box. Emergency services called.
11:00 Lane at dentist
12:00 Lane arrives at work
13:00 Lane phones RM-D to ask if he's heard from Shana. (SRF hinted that Kennady Grice (Shana's cousin) had asked Lane to phone RM-D about Shana.)
13:50 Lane arrested at work

I see a few problems with this.

- Clothing anomalies.

- Why is the house not ablaze by 9:30 if Lane set the fire say between 8:15 and 8:45 the times he is seen to have changed shirts. He can't have gone much later than that or Shana would have already left for work.

I wondered if the man in the high-viz jacket at 9:30 might have been AC's father, but I can't see why it would have taken 15 minutes to call police, unless 9:45 is the police time of arrival. Plus neighbour is unlikely to mention this description if she knew it was when the sister was also there and everyone was coming outside to help.

So who was the high-viz man? Why would he be hanging around? What time was the fire set, if it hadn't taken hold by 9:30ish?

 

[Tortoise]

Father Birks saw him at 9:15 near the Church of the Good Shepherd

 

[Tortoise]

Between 8:15 and 8:45 (the two cctv sightings) he presumably killed Shana, set the fire, washed himself, changed clothes and managed to be in both shops over a mile apart.

I'm puzzled.

 

[Tortoise]

The court heard that police believe Ms Grice died sometime between 07:25 and 08:00 BST, based on the fact that she was conducting a text message conversation with a friend.
A message was sent to her at 07:42, but phone records show she never opened it.

The court heard that Mr Lane had said he had left his home in Portslade at 08:00 that morning, but the CCTV showed him near Ms Grice's house in Chrisdory Road at 07:29.
The detectives asked him why he appeared to have changed his story, to which he replied he must have been confused about the time.
In one exchange, a detective told him: "If you killed Shana that would be one explanation as to why your story keeps changing.
"The truth is you went and killed her. Is that correct?"
Mr Lane replied: "No."
The detective then said: "So why all the changes?"
Mr Lane said: "Because of how it looks."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-sussex-39282106

Right I'm going to sit and digest this.

 

[Tortoise]

Where were the house mates at this very early hour?

Now we have about 2 hours of a petrol fire on the bed and carpet, that didn't set the house on fire, before people arrived.

 

[Tortoise]

[FONT=&quot]Earlier in the interview Lane was also asked how wipes with Miss Grice’s blood and his DNA came to be found near her body. He claimed he had used one to wipe his face when he went to her house two days earlier, on the morning of August 23, after they had sex.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DC Taylor said it was “extremely unusual, quite implausible” which made it hard to believe Lane’s account.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He later said: “Yet again this is you fitting your account to the disclosure we have given you.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lane said: “No.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DC Taylor said: “Yes it is Michael.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lane: “No.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]DC Elmer: “So you didn’t have sex with her or try to have sex with her on Thursday morning.”[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Lane: “No.”

http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/1515..._me____accused_tells_murder_squad_detectives/

more to read at link[/FONT]

 

[Tortoise]

Why would he leave wipes behind? He's obviously bright enough to change his shirt.

 

[Squamous]

Is the implication that the wipes are from a post sex clean up?

I don't think it was explicitly a petrol fire, I think just flammable liquid had been mentioned so may have been lighter fluid or something. Strange fire to smoulder but not blaze up.

It's very like the murder of Nikitta Grender in some ways.