Tristan Roberts: Misogynist son jailed after recording himself bashing to death mum Angela Shellis

WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT

An 18-year-old misogynist who bashed to death his own mother during a terrifying four hour-ordeal, recording it and later boasting about it online, has been jailed.

Teaching assistant Angela Shellis, 45, was found dead in undergrowth by a member of the public at a park in the seaside Welsh town of Prestatyn on October 25, 2025.

She had sustained severe head injuries after brutal hammer attack carried out by her son. The final hours of her life were straight out of a nightmare.

Her son Tristan Roberts, who admitted murdering her, held Ms Shellis captive inside their home for hours before her death, beating her and refusing to let her leave her bedroom.

CCTV footage shows the pair, with Ms Shellis using a crutch, leaving the family home about 3.20am and heading for the park where Roberts bashed her over the head with a hammer, killing her.

Mold Crown Court was later told he had used a dictaphone to record the brutal attack, with Ms Shellis heard screaming that her son was hurting her and begging him to call 999, Metro UK reports

The recording began with Roberts’ chilling words, “This is the moment we’re doing it, we’re going to hit her with a sledgehammer.”

After the killing, Roberts recorded himself saying “Oh God that was terrifying… That felt so crazy.”

Roberts was later seen on CCTV walking home alone before returning the crime scene to try to forensically clean the area, according to a North Wales Police statement about the case.

Using numerous aliases Roberts, who had been diagnosed with autism and ADHD, posted alarming messages to friends on communication app Discord, giving a disturbing insight into his twisted mind.

Before the murder, he wrote to friends “I do hate girls. Are you ok with that? girls/women. I also don’t trust them”.

In another message he wrote ”dont worry. . .she is gonna just vanish off the face fo the earth. I already tried everything else”.

Soon after the murder Roberts wrote, ‘I’ve just had the craziest day”. He went on to write he had “beat the s*** out of her” and describe how he “‘smashed her skull in so hard with a sledge hammer”.

Roberts pleaded guilty to murder in the Mold Crown Court on February 5 and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 22 and a half years on March 25.

“She must have been truly terrified in these the last minutes of her life as you led her across the railway line and into the nature reserve with your telling her that this was a short cut to the town centre and her realising that you were lying and telling you that she didn’t want to be there,” Judge Rhys Rowlands said during sentencing, Metro UK reported.

“It was on any view a truly awful way for someone to die.”

Judge Rowlands said Roberts blamed his mother for his perceived problems.

“You messaged that you had a hatred of women and felt abandoned, betrayed and bullied by your mother, saying that you were going to kill her for ‘revenge, justice and vengeance’,” he said.

Senior investigating officer Andrew Gibson said Roberts had gone to great lengths over several weeks to plan the murder, referring to Roberts buying numerous weapons and spending hours online researching how to kill and how to dispose of a body and remove traces of blood and DNA.

Det. Supt. Gibson said Ms Shellis had shown “tremendous bravery on that fateful night”, remaining calm and continuing to show her caring nature and the love she had for Roberts.

“Despite what must have been a terrifying ordeal for her,” he said.

Sarah Gunther paid tribute to her sister “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.”

Ms Gunther said her sisters’ loss had left a space that could never be filled.

“Her spirit lives on in the laughter she shared, the strength she showed, and the love she poured into her family.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing family violence, phone 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Crisis Care Helpline on 1800 199 008.

Lifeline: 13 11 14.