Tristan Roberts turned 18 on October 10, 2025. Just 10 days later, he brutally murdered his mother, 45-year-old Angela Shellis, in Prestatyn, North Wales. The teenager, reportedly obsessed with movies such as American Psycho, evidently had misogynistic views and consulted an AI chatbot to research the best way to murder someone. The news of Shellis’ death outraged family members who could not believe her own son could do something so horrific. A court recently sentenced Roberts to life in prison for killing the woman who “never gave up” on her son.
Roberts appeared to have a plan.
The Guardian reported that Roberts researched weapons like knives, hammers, and an axe, and how not to get caught after killing someone. Just weeks before the murder, he posted on Discord about the film American Psycho alongside a photo of Christian Bale covered in blood playing Patrick Bateman.
“i got urges,” Roberts wrote. “its gonna be some american psycho sht haha.”
Roberts began attacking Shellis at their home.
The night of her death, Roberts attacked Shellis at her home but somehow convinced her to leave so he could get her medical care, The Guardian reported. Once outside, he walked his mother through a nature reserve where he killed her with a hammer. Roberts recorded the attacks on a dictating machine. Earlier in the day, he recorded a voice memo detailing his plans.
“This is Tristan Roberts. Tonight, I’m going to be Alex and I’m going to murder my mother with a sledgehammer,” he said, per the outlet.
Roberts reportedly posted about his mother’s death online.
After savagely beating his mother to death, Roberts recorded a voice memo with an eerie message, The Guardian reported.
“Oh God that was terrifying,” he said. “That felt so crazy.” The teenager then took his emotions to Discord. “I’ve just had the craziest day,” he said.
Video surveillance shows Roberts going back and forth into his home following Shellis’ death to obtain cleaning products for the crime scene. When police arrested him, he had one simple question: “Is the body you found my mother?” he asked.
Roberts seemed apathetic about his mother’s death.
In court, Judge Rhys Rowlands spoke directly to Roberts. “You appear to have revelled in the control you exerted over your own mother. It was on any view a truly awful way for someone to die,” he said. “It was made all the more dreadful by the fact her attacker was her own son, someone who it is clear she both cared for and, indeed, worried about in the weeks leading up to her death.”
Ethan Roberts, Tristan Roberts’ older brother and Shellis’ eldest son, shared a statement with the court. “All my mum ever did was love Tristan,” the brother wrote, per The Guardian.
The court ultimately sentenced Roberts to life in prison with a minimum sentence of 22 years and six months. From the sound of the digital trail he left behind, Roberts wanted to get caught or, perhaps, to find fame as a killer. Either way, his mother died a brutal death that she clearly didn’t deserve.
