Teenager jailed for life after murdering his mother and ‘boasting about it online’
A man who held his mother captive before murdering her in a Welsh nature reserve has been jailed for life.
Tristan Roberts, 18, held his 45-year-old mother Angela Shellis captive inside their home in Prestatyn, north Wales, for more than four hours prior to her death last October.
North Wales Police said Roberts physically assaulted Angela whilst he brandished a hammer and refused to allow her to leave her bedroom.
CCTV footage showed that the pair then left the home address on foot shortly before 3.20am on 24 October.
After reaching the Morfa Nature Park, Roberts used a hammer and attacked Angela – during which she suffered fatal injuries.
Roberts was later seen on CCTV walking home alone, before returning to the Morfa area, where it is believed he attempted to forensically clean the murder scene.
Angela’s body was then found by a member of the public in undergrowth at the nature park.
Police said she had suffered significant head injuries.
In a tribute to Angela, her sister, Sarah Gunther, said: ‘My beloved sister Angela — a woman whose heart, strength, and spirit shaped the lives of everyone who knew her.
‘She had so many amazing qualities, but one of the greatest was the way she devoted herself to her boys. She was a fantastic and fiercely supportive mum, the kind who never gave up, no matter how hard life became. She fought tirelessly for them, and her love for them was unbreakable, a source of strength that carried her and her boys through every challenge.
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‘To me, she wasn’t just my sister — she was my best friend. She was the person I could talk to about anything, the one who understood me without needing explanations. Her kindness was genuine, her laughter infectious, and her presence brought warmth into every room. She had a way of making people feel seen, valued, and loved, and that is something rare and precious.
‘Losing her has left a space that can never truly be filled. She will be missed every single day by so many people whose lives she touched. But even though she is no longer with us in body, the love she gave and the memories she created will stay with us forever. Her spirit lives on in the laughter she shared, the strength she showed, and the love she poured into her family.
‘As we move forward, let us carry her light with us. Let us honour her by remembering the joy she brought, the kindness she showed, and the courage she lived with. Angela may be gone from our sight, but she will never be gone from our hearts. Her echo will remain in every story we tell, every smile she inspired, and every moment we feel her presence guiding us still.’
During a hearing at Mold Crown Court, the court heard he posted messages on the online platform Discord, saying ‘I’ve just had the craziest day’ before outlining that he killed her.
He said that he had ‘beat the s*** out of her’ and described how he had ‘smashed her skull in so hard with a sledge hammer’.
Andrew Thomas KC, prosecuting, told the court the attack had started the evening before Ms Shellis’s death.
He said: ‘On the evening of October 23, the defendant made a brief voice recording in which he said that he was going to kill his mother that night with a sledgehammer.
‘He said that he was ‘Alex’.
‘It is believed that he was in some way role playing.’
The recording of the attack was not played in court as Mr Thomas said it was too distressing.
He said: ‘It may be the defendant had recorded them as some sort of trophy for what he was doing.’
The court heard Roberts began the recording by saying: ‘This is the moment we’re doing it, we’re going to hit her with a sledgehammer.’
He then attacked her. During the recording, which was taken inside the house, it captured a conversation lasting more than two hours during which Ms Shellis, a qualified teacher, asked her son to let her go and call 999.
The court heard after making her put on a balaclava he told her they would go into town to get medical help.
They then left the house, walked to the nearby nature reserve, where he asked her to sit on a bench. He then attacked her, and she is heard screaming in the recording.
Ms Shellis’ older son Ethan Roberts, who left the court in tears at one point during the hearing, said in a statement: ‘All my mum ever did was love Tristan.’
Last month, Roberts pleaded guilty at Mold Crown Court to murder.
He has been sentenced this afternoon at the same court to life in prison, serving a minimum of 22 and a half years.
Sentencing him to life at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Rhys Rowlands said: ‘You appear to have revelled in the control you exerted over your own mother.’
He added: ‘It was on any view a truly awful way for someone to die.
‘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.’
Senior investigating officer, Detective Superintendent Andrew Gibson said: ‘Within hours of Angela’s body being discovered, Tristan Roberts was identified and arrested. Whilst in custody he was charged with Angela’s murder.
‘Through a thorough investigation, the Major Incident Team, supported by specialist teams, were able to piece together the final hours of Angela’s life, as well as evidence the extent that Tristan Roberts had gone to, over several weeks, as he planned to kill his mother.
‘I would like to recognise and commend the bravery and patience of Angela’s family during this investigation. Recognising not just the loss of Angela in such traumatic circumstances, but also the loss of Tristan, who will now spend a considerable time in prison.
‘I would like to thank the local community of Prestatyn for their assistance throughout the investigation, the information they submitted in response to our appeals, and for their patience and understanding as large areas of the Morfa were cordoned off for several days.
‘Finally, I would like to finish with a thought for Angela, who showed tremendous bravery on that fateful night, who remained calm and continued to show her caring nature and love she had for Tristan, despite what must have been a terrifying ordeal for her.
‘It was important that Angela remained the focal point throughout the investigation, and I hope today’s sentencing allows for some closure and supports Angela’s family in moving forward and towards rebuilding their lives.’
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