Shelley Stamp was 34 years old when her brother-in-law discovered her body in a pool of blood. A broken pair of glasses lay by her side.
Heather Anderson, 36, is charged with m*urder during the commission of a felony for Stamp’s death in her Waterbury, Connecticut apartment last year. Additionally, the defendant has been charged with counts of conspiracy to commit home invasion, first-degree robbery, first-degree assault, sixth-degree theft, first-degree burglary, and illegal use of credit cards.
Recent courtroom posturing has infuriated the victim’s family. The judge presiding over the case recently altered the state’s previous plea offer. Currently, the process is pausing.
According to the New Haven Register, prosecutors proposed earlier this year that the alleged mur*derer serve 36 years in prison in exchange for accepting legal responsibility for Stamp’s death. In response, Anderson’s defense attorney suggested the minimum sentence for mu*rder in Connecticut: 25 years in prison. Then, Superior Court Judge Joseph Schwartz attempted to find a middle ground.
This week, Stamp’s mother, Kathy Daversa, said outside the Waterbury courthouse, as reported by the paper, that the judge had offered 30 years in prison. “I find that to be unacceptable.”
In comments to Hartford’s Fox affiliate WTIC, Daversa continued to disparage the court’s potential display of leniency.
The distraught mother asked aloud on the courthouse steps, “You want to offer 30 years for the life of an innocent woman who was brutally mur*dered, strangled, hit in the head, and left to die after returning home from her third job?”
Laura Tajildeen, Stamp’s sister, echoed this displeasure.
We’re pretty upset about it,” she told the television station. “As she stated, this woman strangled her with her own jacket; it was brutal, and my poor husband discovered her body.”
Since 2005, Stamp has worked as a paraprofessional for the Waterbury Public Schools. She also held a variety of waitressing positions.
She was a paraprofessional who worked with preschool students with special needs, Daversa explained to WTIC.
Sam Tajildeen went to Stamp’s apartment on October 29, 2022, because her family had not heard from her all day. After making the discovery and dialing 911, official assistance arrived at 10 p.m. According to arrest warrant applications obtained by the Register, firefighters and paramedics found the woman’s head, face, and neck wrapped with a shirt or jacket after turning her over while she was face down on the floor. A portion of the garment was placed in her mouth.
Anderson and another woman, Shannon Gritzbach, 37, traveled to Stamp’s apartment the night before, according to law enforcement. Anderson allegedly sought a man she believed would provide her with money. This man formerly resided in Stamp’s apartment but had since moved to another unit in the building.
Police say surveillance footage shows Anderson unsuccessfully attempting to enter Stamp’s apartment at 11:55 p.m. Later footage shows the defendant walking back toward the apartment when Stamp arrived home from work roughly 20 minutes later, police say.
According to the Waterbury Police Department, Anderson admitted that she threw Stamp face-first to the ground and stole several items from her apartment, including $70 in cash, credit cards, and food from the victim’s refrigerator. The defendant stated that she heard Stamp’s labored breathing but did not stop to assist her; she denied tying the shirt or jacket around Stamp’s head, according to police.
“To love Shelley is to know her!” The obituary of Stamp reads. “She had a golden heart. She possessed the gift of gab and was tragically taken from us. Her life was a boon, and her memory is a priceless relic. She was adored beyond description and will be sorely missed.”
According to warrants obtained by the Hartford Courant, police allege that Anderson stole spaghetti from the victim’s refrigerator. After Stamp’s death, her debit card was used four times, once at Burger King and three times at gas stations, according to investigators. The bank declined the final two payments made at the gas station.
The police report that Anderson possessed Stamp’s driver’s license, health insurance card, and credit card when she was arrested in November 2022. A few days later, Gritzbach was placed under arrest.
The authorities disbelieve that Gritzbach entered the apartment. She was initially charged with mu*rder in addition to other grave offenses. Later, Gritzbach was released with misdemeanor charges.
Anderson is being held in lieu of a $1.75 million bond.
Daversa is also upset about the case’s new timelines.
Judge Schwartz continued the case until November 29 during a hearing on Wednesday so that Stamp’s family could provide formal input.
After the hearing, Stamp’s mother said, “The plea deal was supposed to be given in August, but it wasn’t.” “We were required to return today, but we did not. Now, you must return in November.”
The family continued to criticize the alleged ki*ller’s new offer.
“My daughter was 34 years old, and he is offering 30 years in exchange for her life,” Daversa said in remarks reported by the Register on Wednesday. “I never saw her get married, and I will not see her give me grandchildren.”
“We went into this knowing that 36 years would be the maximum,” Tajildeen added. “It’s not fair that they’re offering this reduction in price. My poor spouse discovered her. My two children are 8 and 14 years old, and they struggle daily. I struggle each and every day.”
