Pagan woman obsessed with serial killers gets life in prison after brutally stabbing boyfriend to death

Shaye Groves, 27, attacked Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, as he slept, slitting his throat and stabbing him 17 times in the chest, according to the Daily Mail.

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Justice Kerr of Winchester Crown Court labeled Groves' deed a "crime of passion," and stated that he believed she was "not a cold-blooded murderer."

"You loved the man you killed, and you killed the man you loved," he said.

He showed no mercy, however, handing down a life sentence with no chance of parole for 23 years.

"You have robbed Frankie's family and loved ones of their son and their brother, and his two children of their father," Kerr told Groves, adding that her actions have "blighted" their lives "for decades to come."

In court, it was suggested that Groves murdered Fitzgerald after reading his messages and discovering that he had been chatting with another girl. He blocked her, however, after she told him she was only thirteen. Nonetheless, Groves was said to have acted out of jealousy.

Groves was revealed to have an obsession with the true crime genre and murderers, even going so far as having framed portraits of famous serial killers on her bedroom wall.

She and Fitzgerald were also said to be into BDSM and other such sexual acts, and often filmed themselves in action. The pair even had a set of daggers with horror film villains depicted on them that they allegedly used during "knife play." Groves identified as pagan, and used a special Celtic dagger to kill Fitzgerald.

Groves attempted to paint herself as the victim, and prosecutors accused her of trying to "deliberately set up a false narrative of being abused by Frankie Fitzgerald." Her apparent expertise in cleaning up the crime scene was attributed to her "having watched [true-crime] documentaries."

Speaking after the verdict was handed down, Fitzgerald's father said he was "still grieving."

"Today I would say to Frankie, I love you son, you are missed by everyone," he added. "Your shining light will always be in our hearts."