A serial killer-obsessed murderer was a "manipulative weirdo" who was infatuated with movie murder doll Chucky during her childhood, old pals have said.
Former school friends of killer Shaye Groves have told of her macabre ways when she was a child, as the mum begins her life sentence for murder.
The 27-year-old was found guilty at Winchester Crown Court of killing her on-off boyfriend, Frankie Fitzgerald, 25, cutting his throat and stabbing him 17 times in the chest as he slept in July last year.
Groves had framed pictures of serial killers on her walls and had planned to use tips from true crime documentaries to execute her alibi.
But now old friends of Groves have spoken anonymously about the warning signs during her childhood after she was given life in jail with a minimum term of 23 years for the horrendous crime.
The Mail reported that she nicknamed a friend, Lauren White, ‘Chucky’ after the movie murder doll as pals described her as "manipulative" and "quite strange".
A close friend of her’s from childhood said: “We used to hang out. Shaye was quite strange. She was unique, the way she dressed, what she was into - she used to like Chucky dolls and was interested in them.”
They described her relationship with Ms White as: “Lauren would do whatever Shaye wanted her to do. She was very manipulative – Lauren didn't have many friends and Shaye used to be the one there for her.”
Another friend echoed this sentiment to the outlet.
They revealed that in recent years Groves became more distant and didn’t socialise as much.
She spent more and more time with Ms White and Vikki Baitup - who reported her to the police after she video called her and showed her her partner’s body.
Steven Perian KC, prosecuting, said that Groves used her knowledge from true crime shows to portray herself to Ms Baitup as a victim of Mr Fitzgerald's sexual violence.
She sent the friend videos of the pair having sex edited to appear as rape but the prosecution says the original footage showed that it was consensual sex.
But the court heard how she “very likely was obsessed” with Mr Fitzgerald because of his performance in the bedroom.
The jury heard how the pair shared a mutual interest in BDSM and a camera was set up in the defendant's bedroom at her home in Havant, Hampshire, to record them having sex.
Mr Perian told the jury that Groves acted out of jealousy after she thought that her victim had been messaging a 13-year-old girl on Facebook - a claim that was proven fake.
He said: "Their sex life involved bondage, dominance, submission and masochism - in short form, BDSM.
"It is very likely she was obsessed with Frankie Fitzgerald because of his performance in the bedroom.
"The killing of Frankie Fitzgerald is very likely to be a crime of passion driven by her jealousy."
The once normal mum used to post pictures to social media of her and her young daughter baking cakes as late as 2019.
But now she paints a different picture, covered in tattoos and piercings, she allied her unhealthy obsession with a sexual fetish for heavy BDSM.
She was said to have become violently possessive of Mr Fitzgerald and over the course of their six month relationship they pushed their sexual appetites to the limit, using four knives for 'knife play'.
But on July 17 last year, Groves flew into a rage after she saw Mr Fitzgerald allegedly speaking to a 13-year-old on Instagram, a debunked claim, and she killed him that night.
