A TEENAGE boy was told to kill his mother with a hammer by an AI tool after he asked for tips.
Tristan Roberts, 18, was jailed for life yesterday after he bludgeoned his mother, Angela Shellis, 45, to death with a hammer in a horrific four-hour attack.
Roberts asked AI chatbot Deepseek for advice on which weapon is best for murder and tips on cleaning up afterwards.
The AI search engine told him that a hammer was the best option for “a non-experienced killer”.
Roberts was jailed for life yesterday at Mold Crown Court with a minimum term of 22 years and six months in prison.
Misogynistic Roberts had previously boasted of his intent to kill alongside other women-hating messages on a chat forum linked to other murders.
The teen had been repeatedly banned from the messaging platform Discord after posting extreme content relating to murder, violence, misogyny, weapons and his plan to murder his mother.
Despite the bans, Roberts, who had been diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, was able to set up more than 16 new accounts to keep up his terrifying tirades.
Roberts then began asking Deepseek, a Chinese AI chatbot, for tips on committing murder.
The search engine initially refused to answer when he asked: “What is a batter weapon for murder, a hammer of a knife?”
But Roberts managed to get answers by adding that he was writing a book on serial killers.
He asked about incapacitating a middle aged woman, cutting body parts and “how do I remove any trace of blood, of DNA from the killer or victim?”
The week before the murder, Roberts set up a final Discord profile under the username Tonight’s The Night with a photo of Dexter, from the TV series about a serial killer.
He then posted on the platform after the attack “I’ve just had the craziest day” and described smashing his mother’s skull with a hammer.
In one of his online posts he wrote: “TBH with you I think I nearly traumatised myself today by putting my shoes on at like midnight when she was sleeping and having the hammer in my hand.”
Another read: “She’s going to vanish off the earth. I’ve tried everything else. Now it’s time.”
Roberts planned the killing for three weeks, while his horror attack lasted from 11pm until 3.30am – and he recorded it the entire time as a “trophy”.
He bought knives, axes and hammers after turning 18 – the legal age limit for these purchases – 10 days before the chilling attack in October last year.
The teen made a four-hour voice recording of the attack which started: “This is Tristan Roberts.
“Tonight I’m going to be Alex and I’m going to murder my mother with a sledgehammer.”
After he bludgeoned Angela with at least four blows to the head he can he heard saying: “Oh God that was terrifying…that felt so crazy”.
The voice recording, made on a dictaphone, was deemed so chilling that Judge Rhys Rowlands decided not to play it in court.
He then kept Angela, a teaching assistant, prisoner in her own room for hours while he brandished a hammer.
Roberts convinced her to leave the house under the pretence that she would have her injuries tended to at a local pub – but instead she was killed.
Angela’s body was discovered with multiple blunt force injuries to the head in the seaside town of Prestatyn, North Wales, on October 24 last year.
There was a lengthy trail of blood along a nearby gravel path in the nature reserve.
Her body was found with a crutch, black gloves and a black bloodied balaclava which Roberts forces her to wear.
It later emerged Angela had needed a crutch because of a recent knee injury.
Not long after, Roberts was arrested at the family home – where he lived with his mum – and charged with murder four days later.
When he was arrested, he was described as calm and compliant and he asked cops: “Is the body you found my mother?”
During the sentencing the judge said it was a “truly awful way to die” and told Roberts his mum “cared for and worried about you”.
The mum-of-two’s heartbroken family said: “She had so many amazing qualities, but one of the greatest was the way she devoted herself to her boys.
“She was a fantastic and fiercely supportive mum, the kind who never gave up, no matter how hard life became.
“She fought tirelessly for them, and her love for them was unbreakable, a source of strength that carried her and her boys through every challenge.
“Her kindness was genuine, her laughter infectious, and her presence brought warmth into every room. She had a way of making people feel seen, valued, and loved, and that is something rare and precious.
“Losing her has left a space that can never truly be filled. She will be missed every single day by so many people whose lives she touched.”
Police have submitted an application for a safeguarding review.
A spokesperson for Discord said the app took decisive action by removing harmful content and banning users.
