Who is Heather Anderson? Woman whose potential sentence was lowered by several years in the slaying of an educator offered plea deal
WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT: Shelly Stamp was found lifeless in a pool of her blood by her brother-in-law when she was just 34 years old.
The accused, Heather Anderson, 36, faces murder charges during the commission of a felony for Stamp’s death at her own apartment in Waterbury, Connecticut, last year.
The perpetrator has also been charged with counts of conspiracy to commit home invasion, robbery in the first degree, assault in the first degree, larceny in the sixth degree, burglary in the first degree, and illegal use of credit cards.
A plea deal was offered to the defendant by the state
A recent courtroom posturing has left the victim's family enraged. A previous plea deal offered by the state was recently changed by the judge overseeing the case and as of now, the process has taken a pause.
According to New Haven Register, prosecutors suggested earlier this year that the killer spend 36 years in prison in exchange for accepting legal culpability over Stamp’s death.
In response, Anderson’s defense attorney suggested the Nutmeg State’s minimum sentence for murder is 25 years behind bars.
Superior Court Judge Joseph Schwartz then tried to more or less split the difference. “The judge came back offering 30 years,” Stamp’s mother, Kathy Daversa, said outside the Waterbury courthouse this week, adding “I find that unacceptable.”
What did Shelly Stamp's family members say?
Daversa continued to play down the court’s potential show of leniency in comments to Fox affiliate WTIC. “You want to offer 30 years for the life of an innocent woman coming home from her third job, into her own home, her own sanctuary, brutally murdered, strangled, hit in the head and left to die?” the distraught mother asked outside the courthouse steps.
Stamp’s sister, Laura Tajildeen, also expressed her displeasure. “For them to bring it down more, we’re pretty upset about it,” she told the TV station.
“Like she said, she was strangled with her own jacket by this woman and it was brutal and my poor husband found her,” Tajildeen added. Anderson is currently detained in lieu of $1.75 million bail.
Stamp worked as a paraprofessional with Waterbury Public Schools since 2005. She also worked various waitressing jobs. “She was caring, loving, she was a paraprofessional, she worked with preschool students with special needs,” Daversa told WTIC.
When did the authorities find out about the murder?
Sam Tajildeen went to Stamp’s apartment on October 29 last year as family members had not heard from her all day.
After making the discovery and dialling 911, official help arrived just after 10 pm. Emergency responders turned the woman who was face down on the floor over to find her head, face and neck wrapped with a shirt or jacket. Part of the garment had been stuffed inside her mouth.
According to the authorities, Anderson and another woman, Shannon Gritzbach, 37, traveled to Stamp’s apartment the previous night.
Anderson was allegedly looking for a man she thought would give her money. That man used to live in the apartment where Stamp lived but had since moved to another unit in the building.
Surveillance footage showed Anderson unsuccessfully trying to get into Stamp’s unit at around 11.55 pm. Later, footage shows the defendant walking back towards the apartment when Stamp arrived home from work roughly 20 minutes later, police say.
Heather Anderson admitted to stealing several items from Shelly Stamp's apartment
Anderson would go on to admit that she shouldered Stamp to the ground, face-first, and stole several items from her apartment, which included $70 in cash, credit cards, and food from the victim’s refrigerator, according to the Waterbury Police Department.
The defendant said she heard agonized breathing but did not stop to help Stamp; she denied tying the shirt or jacket around her head.
“To know Shelley is to love her!” Stamp’s obituary reads. “She had a heart of gold. She certainly had the gift of gab and was taken from us all too soon. Her life was a blessing, her memory a treasure. She was loved beyond words and will missed beyond measure,” it adds.
