The woman accused of killing a 34-year-old Waterbury school employee and using her credit cards to make several purchases is taking a plea deal to serve 30 years in prison.
Heather Anderson, of Naugatuck, was in court on Wednesday to accept the plea deal or choose to take the case to trail. She’s facing a murder charge for the October 2022 killing of 34-year-old Shelley Stamp.
Several of Stamp’s family members watched on in the Waterbury courtroom as Stamp’s mother tearfully addressed the court during the hearing.
“She killed my daughter with her bare hands by strangling and/or suffocating her,” said Kathy Daversa, Stamp’s mother. “She left her to die in a puddle of her own blood while the beast ransacked her apartment for hours.”
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Daversa detailed the past tragedies in her life, including a devastating house fire and becoming a widow, saying they pale in comparison to losing her daughter.
“The most tragic event that changed me forever is the brutal and despicable murder of my vivacious, caring, generous and loving daughter at the hands of this defendant who has absolutely no regard for human life,” Daversa said.
The family discovered Stamp’s body after not hearing from her and deciding to stop by her Newbury Street apartment in Waterbury. That’s where they found her unresponsive.
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Medics pronounced Stamp dead shortly before officers arrived just after 10 p.m, according to police.
“It’s Christmas [and] we don’t have Shelley. We don’t have half our family. It’s just devastating,” Stamp’s mom said.
She was a paraprofessional for Waterbury Public Schools, working with children with special needs, and also had several waitressing jobs in the Greater Waterbury area.
Prosecutors said she was coming home from one of those jobs the night of her murder.
“[Stamp] pulled into the apartment building, Heather Anderson saw her, and followed her into the apartment building,” the prosecutor said in court Wednesday.
During the investigation, police determined that the motive of the murder was robbery. Anderson is alleged to have broken into Stamp’s apartment, killing her and then ransacking her apartment. She’s alleged to have taken Stamp’s credit cards and a container of leftover spaghetti before getting into an Acura driven by Shannon Gritzbach.
Gritzbach was charged with two misdemeanors. Police then said the pair made several purchases with the cards.
“After Shelley had been killed, Shelley’s debit card had been used at a Burger King in Hartford,” a prosecutor added, saying the pair then made purchases at a Sonoco gas station.
While the family hoped for a life sentence, Anderson agreed to a plea deal to serve 30 years, with a minimum of 25.
“I will be dead in 30 years, but my daughter and granddaughters won’t, and they shouldn’t have to walk the same streets as this monster,” Daversa said.
The Stamp family is now advocating for harsher sentences for these types of violent crimes.
“It’s because the sentences are not strict enough, the criminals are not afraid to commit the crimes. That’s the problem,” she added. “There’s absolutely no justice in 30 years. It’s an insult to my daughter’s life. It’s an absolute slap in the face to my daughter that the brutal murder just got 30 years.”
Anderson will be sentenced on March 20.
