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Shana Grice Murder: Police Fined Teen Who Reported Her Ex-Boyfriend’s Harassment

By Christian Savoy
Published on: 11:28 PST, Mar 20, 2017

The story of a teen who was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend is topping headlines this week when it was revealed that police issued her a fine after she reported he was harassing her. The Independent reports that Shana Grice told police her ex, 27-year-old Michael Lane, was stalking her in February 2016. Lane reportedly became “obsessed” with Grice, 19, after she got back together with her previous boyfriend, Ashley Cooke.

According to the report, Lane allegedly hid outside her house, left unwanted flowers and a note that read “Shona will always cheat on you” on Cooke’s car. Just months after she reported the harassment to authorities, she was found dead with a slit throat in her apartment in East Sussex, England.

Shana Grice was allegedly killed by her ex-boyfriend and her story is an example of how the authorities often ignore the allegations of many women victims of harassment. Grice repeatedly reported to police that Lane was harassing her. However, the only response she received from authorities was a fine for wasting their time. Just six months later, her lifeless body was found slumped in her bedroom in Portslade, East Sussex.

As reported by The Sun, cops said she had “caused wasteful employment of police by making a false report” when she reported Lane for pulling her hair and grabbing her phone in March 2016, and no further action was taken against him. Now, her ex-boyfriend Michael Lane faces trial for her murder. During the oral hearing, members of the jury heard details surrounding the months before the crime and they also heard a recording of a phone conversation between Grice and Lane. During the phone conversation, Grice confronted him about his “weird” behavior.

“I’m just not right in the head,” Lance was quoted as saying. When Grice suggested he might need to seek psychological help, he gave the below response.

“Obviously something’s not right, but I don’t know what it is. I need to find out, or be locked up or something.”

In July 2016, Lane reportedly stole her keys and went into her house to spy on her while she slept. On that occasion, the police warned him to stay away from her. However, both Grice’s complaints about this incident and the threatening calls she received were labeled “low risk” by police.

During the trial, there were also several recordings of conversations between the couple in which Shana further accused Lane of strange behavior. Metro reported that Lane placed a tracking device in the teen’s car and told her friends that Shana was supposed to “pay for what she had done.”

Last August, Shana was found dead in her room and the main suspect is Lane, who alleged before the judge that his harassment was due to his desire to understand why the relationship ended so suddenly.

Lane told the court he had sex with Grice two nights before her death and claimed he was shocked when he discovered her body after her front door was left open.

“I saw her slumped against the bed. She wasn’t moving. I saw blood on the bed and blood on the floor,” Lane testified.

“She was in her dressing gown. I thought she was dead. I didn’t know what to do.”

On the other hand, the prosecutor argued that the defendant had been in Shana’s residence the morning of her death and he somehow disposed of the clothes he was wearing to conceal evidence. After finding her body, Lane said he went to a McColl’s shop to get a lottery ticket checked.

His defense counsel, Russell Flint, asked him, “Why do that after seeing your former girlfriend slumped against her bed seemingly dead?”

Lane said, “Because I didn’t want what I saw to be true.”

“He didn’t telephone the police. He didn’t telephone for an ambulance. He told no-one about what he had seen. He panicked. He said he thought the police would blame him,” prosecutor Philip Bennetts said during the trial.

Shana’s blood has been found on Lane’s slippers, and he also admitted that he had lied to the police during interrogations. The investigation remains open and the mismanagement of Shana’s allegations by the police will be investigated by an independent commission of complaints against the police (IPCC).

[Featured Image by Oli Scarff/Getty Images]

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