A man has been convicted of the brutal murder of a woman at a flat in Whetstone.
Shannon Grant, 27, has been found guilty of the murder of Natasha Morais following a trial at Leicester Crown Court today (Tuesday 13 February) and will be sentenced at the same court on next month.
On the evening of 22 June last year, Natasha’s phone was used to send a message to her mum asking for £2,000 which she claimed was to pay a fine.
Concerned as to why she needed so much money, the family tried calling her but there was no answer and therefore worried, Natasha’s mum and brother arrived at her flat in Loughland Close at around 8.40 pm.
They knocked the communal front door and a man, they did not know, appeared from window of Natasha’s first floor flat and refused to allow them access. With their concern for Natasha increasing they called police.
While on the phone to police, they described hearing what sounded like someone jumping from height around the back of the flat.
When officers arrived, they forced entry to Natasha’s flat and found the 40-year-old unresponsive underneath an ottoman style bed.
Showing signs of being physically assaulted, police officers and paramedics commenced CPR but Natasha was sadly pronounced dead shortly before 10pm that evening.
Another of Natasha’s brothers arrived at the scene and on being told the description of the man upstairs, he said he sounded like Shannon Grant, who he knew from school. After obtaining a video of Grant to show his mum and brother, they confirmed it looked like the same man.
Within a few hours, police then traced Grant to a flat in Coventry where he was arrested by armed officers on suspicion of murder. Following a search of the flat a sawn-off shotgun was located which Grant pleaded guilty to possession of prior to the murder trial. Found within a wheelie bin outside the same flat were personal items belonging to Natasha and clothing that Grant had been wearing at the time of Natasha’s death.
Also at the flat were three people who were arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender. Following an investigation into their actions and movements, no further action was taken against them.
In the investigation that followed, detectives were able to place Grant at Loughland Close from 9pm on 21 June until shortly before 9pm the following day, although Grant denied this stating he was in Coventry.
