Obsessive housemate who planted secret surveillance across their home jailed for murder

A man has been jailed for brutally killing his housemate after discovering that she had started a new relationship.

Sheldon Rodrigues, 30, was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old Bailey today (8 March 2024) after being found guilty of murdering Stephanie Hansen. He will serve a minimum of 25 years.

Rodrigues spent over 150 hours eavesdropping his housemate using hidden surveillance devices planted across the home. He also stalked Ms Hansen’s new partner, on one occasion paying £100 to someone to follow him in their vehicle.

In an attempt to stop their relationship from developing, Rodrigues also made violent threats to the pair from fake social media accounts and contacted their employer on two occasions demanding that they be dismissed.

Whilst at work on 29 December 2022, CCTV captured Rodrigues checking his phone and adjusting his earphones over a significant amount of time whilst he secretly listened to Ms Hansen and her boyfriend at home.

After his shift finished in the early hours of 30 December 2022, Rodrigues brutally attacked Ms Hansen, who was later discovered to have sustained 20 knife wounds and 39 impact injuries.

After reporting Ms Hansen’s death to police, Rodrigues was discovered to have cuts to the palms and fingers of his hands, which he claimed were from carving a chicken on Christmas Day. This claim was later disproven using CCTV evidence from his work showing these wounds were not obtained until after his last shift on 29 December.

Devi Kharran,  Senior Crown Prosecutor, CPS London Homicide said: “After discovering her new relationship, Sheldon Rodrigues embarked on a campaign to dehumanise and destroy Stephanie Hansen after years of failed attempts to start his own relationship with her.

“Ms Hansen was no longer afforded privacy in her own home, as several hidden surveillance devices were set up to feed Rodrigues' obsession with her and his desire to control, monitor and end her relationship.

“When questioned, Rodrigues tried to suggest that it was Stephanie’s boyfriend who had attacked her, but working together with the police, we built a strong case using CCTV, forensic analysis and mobile phone evidence to prove that it could only have been Rodrigues that was responsible for her tragic death.

“Our thoughts remain with all of Stephanie’s family and friends. I hope today's sentence brings them some sense of justice.”