A teen girl who was fined for wasting police time by repeatedly reporting her stalker ex-boyfriend was ultimately murdered by him. Shanna Grice, 19, was found in the bedroom of her apartment in Brighton in 2016 with her throat cut after an extended period of harassment and stalking from 27-year-old Michael Lane. The apartment was filled with smoke when officers arrived. However, many see the tragic loss of life as completely preventable if Sussex Police hadn’t dismissed Grice’s very valid concerns.
Sussex Police
- Lane had been abusing Grice for months. Not only had Lane broken into Grice’s home several times and physically assaulted her, he also placed a tracker on her car and followed her everywhere she went. While you would assume this would be enough to warrant police attention, officers who interviewed Grice following the first break-in dismissed it as a “lover’s tiff” and brushed off Grice’s complaints. She was even handed a $120 fine for wasting police time, if you can believe it.
- Sussex Police have been heavily criticized for their response (or lack thereof) to Grice’s cries for help. Lewes Crown Court heard how Grice had reached out to police on several occasions about Lane’s actions but got no help in return. “You jumped to conclusions. In other words, she was treated as the wrongdoer and having committed a criminal offense, and Michael Lane was treated as the victim,” said Mr. Justice Green. “There was seemingly no appreciation on the part of those investigating that a young woman in a sexual relationship with a man could at one and the same time be vulnerable and at risk of serious harm. The police jumped to conclusions and Shana was stereotyped.”
- Lane had the audacity to plead not guilty to Grice’s murder. As Grice’s family said, Lane is a “dangerous and obsessive man” who showed “arrogance and cowardice” for failing to take responsibility for his horrific actions. They added that their daughter would still be alive today had the police stepped in. “[Lane] compounded this by relying on the wholly inadequate police assessment of risk to Shana to suggest he was no danger to her,” they said. “We firmly believe Shana would be alive today if Sussex Police had acted to protect Shana on the many occasions she complained about Lane, rather than issue her with a fine for wasting police time.”
- Lane will spend at least 25 years behind bars. Lane was ultimately found guilty of Grice’s murder and sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 25 years before he’s eligible for parole. It was later revealed that 13 other women had registered police complaints about Lane in the three years before Grice’s murder. The fact that nothing was done is even more horrific.
