My beautiful sister was brutally murdered by her housemate, he seemed harmless, we never imagined what he was capable of
THE brother of a woman who was stabbed to death by her obsessed housemate has spoken for the first time about his ‘lovely sister.’
Sheldon Rodrigues, 30, was last week found guilty of the murder of 39-year-old Stephanie Hansen following the conclusion of a trial at the Old Bailey.
Her body was found on New Year’s Eve 2022, with horrific stab wounds.
Stephanie’s brother, Scott Peden, 31, has spoken for the first time since her death in tribute to his older sister, revealing the family always thought Rodrigues was ‘quiet and harmless’.
After Stephanie’s murdered, the family even worried for Rodrigues’ safety, before police dropped the bombshell that he was in fact her killer.
Lovely inside and out
Scott, from Cambridge, says: “Stephanie was absolutely lovely, inside and out.
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“She had lots of male attention. She had a heart of gold and spent her spare time volunteering with community action groups.
“She was passionate about the environment and nature and was a member of a litter picking group.
“I’d met Rodrigues lots of times. He spent Christmas with my family, he was often around when we visited Stephanie.
“It was clear to anyone that he was obsessed with her. But we could never ever have dreamed that he would hurt her.”
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Stephanie was raised by her mother, Glenda, in Hayes, West London, with brothers Scott and Russell, now 38.
Protective sister
Scott, a supermarket worker, says: “She was a real girly girl, she loved jewellery and clothes. She was very independent and worked hard.
“She had jobs at American Airlines and DHL and always did shift work.
“She was very community-minded too and took part in projects to improve the area, including volunteering as a litter-picker.
“Because Stephanie was nine years older than me, she was very protective. I was bullied a little at school and she really looked out for me.
“Once, two boys hit me in the eye with a pellet gun and Stephanie marched round to tell their parents and she made sure the guns went in the bin.
“It breaks my heart that she spent her life thinking of others and yet she suffered such a cruel death.”
'He always wanted more'
Stephanie met Sheldon Rodrigues in 2015 through work, and in 2022, they moved into a shared house together.
For Stephanie, it was a purely practical arrangement, but Rodrigues wanted more.
Scott says: “Rodrigues was quiet and shy, not Stephanie’s type at all, but he was infatuated with her. He was always trying to sneak his arm around her or hold her hand.
“We went to London Zoo for a day out in December 2022, and he kept trying to lead Stephanie off so he could have her to himself.
“She didn’t seem to let it upset her. She was clear with him about the boundaries, and we thought it would go no further. We had no idea of the extent of the harassment.
“Once, shortly before she died, she confided in my mum that Rodrigues was bothering her and she planned to move away.
“But even then, she felt sure she could handle it. He seemed harmless. I even stayed in his bedroom, when he went on holiday to Goa, and he was fine about that.
“Now I know that he had listening devices in the house, and he kept checking up on her whilst he was away.”
Obsessive behaviour
Towards the end of 2022, Stephanie told her family she’d started a new relationship.
Her plan was to move out of London and try for a baby, and they believe this was the trigger for the brutal attack which followed.
Rodrigues became paranoid, sending anonymous messages to Stephanie’s workplace in an attempt to undermine her new relationship.
He also purchased monitoring equipment, including spy cameras and listening devices, which he hid around the house.
On 10 December 2022 he followed Stephanie’s partner in his car, paying someone to drive him.
He then sent an anonymous message to the man threatening his family.
On December 30, Stephanie’s partner stayed over, and though he was at work, Rodrigues spent much of the night logged in to his secret listening devices.
Life cut short
When he returned home, after her partner left, he launched a violent attack, stabbing Stephanie multiple times and using a fan and hairdryer to batter her with ‘severe force.’
She suffered 20 stab wounds and suffered 39 blunt impact injuries.
He then went to a chemist to buy bandages for wounds to his hands and he sent messages to Stephanie’s phone, claiming she was alive and was out shopping.
At 10am on New Year’s Eve, he called police claiming to have found her body.
Rodrigues claimed he had cut his hand while cutting a chicken on Christmas Day, however, the cuts were still open and appeared fresh.
It breaks my heart that she spent her life thinking of others and yet she suffered such a cruel death
Scott Peden
Officers checked CCTV from his work which showed him there on the 29 December, interacting with colleagues including giving one a high-five which caused him no discomfort, and he was not wearing bandages.
Further analysis of CCTV from outside the house showed Stephanie’s boyfriend had left the house on 29 December, shortly before Rodrigues returned home.
Scott says: “We’d seen Stephanie two days before Christmas, because she was working Christmas Day. Then we had a call from police on New Year’s Eve to say Stephanie had been murdered. We were all heartbroken.
“For several days we didn’t know the identity of her killer and we were actually worried about Rodrigues. When the police told us it was him, we were in shock. It was inconceivable.”
The family held two funerals for Stephanie, because organs had been removed from her body, for forensic testing, before the first funeral.
The Old Bailey heard Rodrigues’ obsession dated back several years.
How you can get help
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – [email protected].
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.
In 2021, he wrote: “It hurts to see you every day knowing you’ll never like me,” to which she responded: “I do like you but just not enough.”
He appeared not to accept the rejection, offering to change and have surgery to alter his looks, the court was told.
The court was also told that on December 8, the defendant allegedly messaged Stephanie’s boyfriend on Facebook, using the fake name 'Jamie Oliver', making threats against his family.
On December 20, he messaged Stephanie to say he had been a “psycho” before searching the internet for “how to make a woman fall in love with him”
Rodrigues was found guilty last week and remanded in custody ahead of sentencing on Friday, 8 March.
Harrowing details
Scott says: “We had very scant details about the murder right up to the trial.
"But before it began the police showed us very harrowing photos which were upsetting for us all, especially my mum.
“Stephanie had suffered horrendous injuries and her bedroom looked like a scene from a slasher movie. There was so much blood. It was really hard for my mum and the rest of the family.
“Rodrigues denied murdering her and we had a very anxious wait for the verdict. When it came, there was a sense of relief, but nothing will bring her back.
“She was so well loved and well liked, she had so much to offer, and it is unimaginably cruel.”
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Detective Chief Inspector Neil John from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command led the investigation and said: While this conviction will do little to ease the intense pain that Stephanie’s family and friends continue to endure following her death, I hope it reinforces the Met’s determination to hold those who inflict violence against women and girls to account.”
The family were hit by a second tragedy last summer when Scott’s partner and two children died in a house blaze, caused by a faulty e battery.
