Nowhere to Turn: The Stalking and Murder of Shana Grice
When teenager Shana Grice began dating twenty-seven-year-old Michael Lane in 2015, she was unaware that he had a history of being unable to let go after relationships had run their course. Like the others before her, she would learn the hard way that Lane was a master manipulator who would use everything at his disposal, including the legal system, to keep what he believed was his.
Shana and Lane had only been together a short time when she decided that she’d had enough of his volatile temper and increasingly controlling behavior. When she told him it was over, she had assumed that he would take the news like an adult and get on with his life. It became apparent soon enough that this was something he simply would not do.
Unwilling to bow out gracefully, Lane bombarded Shana with texts and phone calls, prompting her to block his number. In the days and weeks after their split, she began to suspect that he was following her. Even though she had gone out of her way to avoid him, he seemed to always know where she was and who she was with.
The mystery of how Lane was able to anticipate Shana’s every move was solved when it was discovered that someone had installed a tracking device on her car. Convinced that her former boyfriend was the culprit, the nineteen-year-old resident of Brighton, England, had taken her concerns to the Sussex County police on February 8, 2016.
Shana had explained to officers that not only was Lane monitoring her comings and goings via the tracker, but he was also gaining entry into the home she shared with two roommates while they were out.
She had gone on to say that when Lane discovered she had gotten back with her high school beau, Ashley Cooke, he had turned his attention to the man he considered his romantic rival. In one unsettling incident, he had left a note on Cooke’s car warning him that “Shana will always cheat on you.” This was apparently in reference to the fact that Lane had begun seeing the teenager during a period when the on-again, off-again sweethearts had agreed to date other people.
After hearing Shana out, the officers agreed to have a talk with Lane. Instead of charging him with stalking, which is admittedly difficult to prove, they had issued a verbal warning to steer clear of Shana and her friends or they would be forced to act. Needless to say, the dressing down did nothing to curb his behavior.
A month later, Lane showed up at Shana’s place unannounced and a confrontation ensued. As she attempted to run, he had grabbed her by the hair. He had also tried to take her cellphone to prevent her from calling for help, striking her in the process.
Police who were called to the scene questioned Lane and Shana as to the nature of the altercation. She had insisted, once again, that he was an ex-boyfriend who was stalking her relentlessly. He, on the other hand, had characterized the episode as a “lover’s spat” that had gotten out of hand. He explained that they were very much a couple, and she had a tendency to be overly dramatic.
After coming to the conclusion that Lane was the more believable of the two, officers had chastised Shana for wasting their time. Determined to teach her a lesson in responsibility, they had fined her £90 ($116). In the official report, responding officers asserted that Shana had blown the entire incident out of proportion in order to “disguise her affair.” The source of this information had been her ‘boyfriend’ and perceived victim, Michael Lane.
Empowered by the belief that authorities were on his side, Lane’s disturbing behavior ratcheted up tenfold following this latest run-in. Not long afterwards, Shana started receiving phone calls from someone who breathed heavily into her ear, never uttering a word. Though the number was hidden, there was no doubt in her mind that her ex was up to his old tricks. Unfortunately, she was well-aware that knowing something and proving it are two entirely different things.
As winter transitioned to spring, Shana’s life continued to be turned upside down by Lane, who was pestering her more than ever. Though anyone else in her shoes would have gone straight to the authorities, after the fiasco back in February when they made her out to be the bad guy, she feared that she wouldn’t be believed.
On July 12, 2016, she had finally had enough. After being followed by Lane for the umpteenth time, she had reported him for stalking. She also told police about the phone calls, which never let up. Brushing her concerns off yet again, they had informed her in writing that no action on their part would be forthcoming. They simply hadn’t seen the need. It would come to light later on that they had classified the harassment she was describing as “low risk.”
A week later, Lane used a stolen key to enter Shana’s home. He had then crept into her bedroom early one morning to watch her sleep. What he didn’t know at the time was that she was awake and hiding under the covers. Believing that this might be her only chance to get solid evidence of the stalking, she had activated the voice recorder on her cellphone.
In the moments that followed, Lane could be heard saying “I wanted to see you and I knew you wouldn’t let me in. I’m just not right in the head, otherwise I wouldn’t do it.” After loitering in her room for several minutes, he had left the residence without further incident.
When she was sure the coast was clear, Shana contacted police. Having finally crossed the line in the eyes of the law, Lane was arrested and charged with breaking and entering. He posted bail and was released later that day.
On August 25, Lane let himself into Shana’s residence for the final time. After waiting outside for her roommates to leave, he had entered the home at 7:30 a.m., armed with a knife. Upon finding the object of his unending obsession alone in her room, he had cut her throat. He had then disabled the smoke alarm and set her body on fire.
Before fleeing the scene, the stalker turned killer had rifled through his victim’s belongings, taking any money he could find, along with her debit card. Less than an hour later, his image was captured on surveillance video withdrawing money from an ATM.
When the horrific scene was discovered later that day, the flames had fizzled out, leaving Shana’s remains virtually intact. With five harassment/stalking complaints against Lane on record, investigators had no trouble zeroing in on a person of interest.
Lane was quickly taken into custody and charged with Shana’s murder. He pleaded not guilty. He was held without bail awaiting trial.
In March 2017, following two weeks of testimony, Lane was found guilty as charged by a jury of his peers. The judge imposed a sentence of life in prison with the possibility of parole after twenty-five years.
During the court proceedings, it was revealed that at least twelve other females, most of them teenagers, had accused Lane of stalking in the years preceding Shana’s murder. Records showed that in 2010, he had been arrested for allegedly instigating an improper relationship with a girl he met online. The victim in that instance was only fourteen. For whatever reason, the matter was dropped and the charges dismissed.
With Lane finally behind bars, attention shifted to the glaring issue of police misconduct. Shana’s family demanded that the officers who had treated her like a nuisance instead of the victim of a relentless stalker be held accountable for their actions, or lack thereof.
Among other things, after Shana’s death, it was learned that authorities had traced the harassing phone calls that she had been receiving from a private number to the home where Lane was staying. Even after confirming that he was behind the deluge of unwanted communications, no police agencies had stepped in to put a stop to his activities. What’s more, no one had taken the time to notify Shana of these findings.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct agreed to look into the allegations. Their investigation resulted in a recommendation that three officers who had responded to Shana’s complaints should face disciplinary action. Two others, constables Jon Barry Mills and Trevor Godfrey, were charged with gross misconduct for their mishandling of the case. Mills resigned in 2019. Godfrey was already retired when the internal investigation got underway. Since they were no longer on the force, they were both free to get on with their lives.
Trevor Godfrey, the officer who had leveled the fine against Shana back in March of 2016, steadfastly defended his actions, stating that she had admitted that she and Lane had been involved in “an affair.” He felt that the monetary admonishment was necessary in light of his belief that she was lying in a bid to get “people arrested” for her own purposes. He insisted that, at the time, he had witnessed nothing to indicate that the situation would escalate to violence.
In the aftermath of the hearings, new training methods were implemented in order to prevent a repeat of the tone-deaf approach some members of law enforcement had taken in Shana’s case.
Though Shana Grice had reached out to police numerous times in the months leading up to her murder, more often than not, she had been viewed as a bother rather than a young woman in desperate need of help. In contrast, authorities had been sympathetic toward Lane, who was able to convince them he was the victim of an unstable ex with surprisingly little effort. It wasn’t until her body was found in a smoldering bedroom that the true victim in this case was finally taken seriously, and by then it was too late.
Resources:
· bbc.com
·judiciary.uk
·usatoday.com
·thecut.com
·hudgellsolicitors.co.uk
Images used under provisions of the Fair Use Act for purposes of reporting and education.