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MURDERED Shana Grice can be heard telling her ex-boyfriend "he needs to get help" in a chilling phone call before he slit her throat.

Jilted lover Michael Lane was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years today for killing Grice before torching her bedroom.

 Shana Grice, 19, was found with her throat slit and slumped against her bed in August last year
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Shana Grice, 19, was found with her throat slit and slumped against her bed in August last yearCredit: Facebook
 Her ex-boyfriend Michael Lane, 27, was today sentenced for her murder
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Her ex-boyfriend Michael Lane, 27, was today sentenced for her murderCredit: PA:Press Association

Shana Grice, 19, made repeated calls to cops over fears she was being followed by Michael Lane, 27, up to a month before she was killed - but it was deemed "low risk", the jury was told.

A phone call has now revealed how she told Lane not to come "near her house again"; to stop "a vicious circle" just a month before he killed her in August last year.

She also asked him why he "took her keys" before he replied: "Because I wanted to see you."

 

Miss Grice responded: "That's not good because it's putting us in danger, you could have flipped at any point."

Her obsessive stalker Lane later said: "I'm just not right in the head, otherwise I wouldn't do it."

Miss Grice added: "Well maybe you need to get help then."

We firmly believe Shana would be alive today if Sussex Police had acted to protect Shana

A statement from the parents of Shana Grice

Miss Grice made the call after Lane had stolen a back door key from her home in July last year.

He let himself in before watching her sleeping and leaving, the court heard.

The following day, Miss Grice reported to police receiving around seven calls from a withheld number, including one with heavy breathing, which she believed was related to the incident the day before.

Miss Grice was told that there were no further lines of inquiry and the case would be left on file.

Lane slashed her throat at her home in Portslade, Brighton and Hove, before going to check his lottery ticket.

He carried out the attack just weeks after Miss Grice had rekindled her romance with ex-boyfriend Ashley Cooke.

A two-week trial heard that Lane refused to accept their break-up and decided no-one else could be with her, telling a friend: "She'll pay for what she's done."

On July 12, just over a month before she was killed, Miss Grice reported told cops she had been followed by Lane, who had placed a tracker device on her car.

 Jurors heard Shana called cops to report her fears that she was being stalked by her ex Michael Lane
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Jurors heard Shana called cops to report her fears that she was being stalked by her ex Michael LaneCredit: Facebook
 Prosecutors alleged Lane slipped into her home while Miss Grice was alone and slit her throat before torching her room
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Prosecutors alleged Lane slipped into her home while Miss Grice was alone and slit her throat before torching her roomCredit: Social media

Jurors heard police treated the incident as "low risk", but that the investigating officer would be made aware.

In a statement following sentencing, Miss Grice's parents, Sharon Grice and Richard Green, said she would still be alive today if Sussex Police had acted on her complaints.

They said: "Shana had complained to the Sussex Police about his stalking her over five times but this was treated as being of low risk and she was given a fine for wasting police time."

They went on: "In his contemptible defence he sought to blame innocent men for his actions.

"He compounded this by relying on the wholly inadequate police assessment of risk to Shana to suggest he was no danger to her.

"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."

 Michael Lane denied murder but admits he went to check his lottery ticket after finding Shana's body
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Michael Lane denied murder but admits he went to check his lottery ticket after finding Shana's bodyCredit: PA:Press Association
 Lane told the court he 'saw blood on the bed and blood on the floor' but 'didn't know what to do'
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Lane told the court he 'saw blood on the bed and blood on the floor' but 'didn't know what to do'Credit: PA:Press Association
 Her boyfriend Ashley Cooke told The Sun he had left Shana’s home at 7am that morning, giving her a kiss and a cuddle on the doorstep
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Her boyfriend Ashley Cooke told The Sun he had left Shana’s home at 7am that morning, giving her a kiss and a cuddle on the doorstepCredit: Social Media
 Ashley Cooke, pictured arriving at Lewes Crown Court where Michael Lane is on trial accused of murdering Shana
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Ashley Cooke, pictured arriving at Lewes Crown Court where Michael Lane is on trial accused of murdering ShanaCredit: PA:Press Association

Footage of Lane in police interviews shows how he spun a web of lies to cops as he told them he found Miss Grice dead in her bungalow.

He added that "he was scared because he'd never seen a dead body before" and that he didn't report it because "they would think he did it".

During his trial he repeated the lies and added that he didn't call 999 because he "didn't know what to do".

Asked why he did not call an ambulance, Lane said: "Because I was just in shock."

He said he saw no signs of fire and denied torching the room.

Lane claimed he had bought petrol earlier because he wanted to commit suicide after slumping into a depression triggered by the death of his grandfather.

He said he left Miss Grice's property and returned home but did not tell any of his family about his discovery.


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