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New Haven County resident Heather Anderson, age 35, of Naugatuck, was sentenced on Thursday, March 21 to 30 years in prison, with a 25-year minimum, according to Fox61.
The murder took place in New Haven County around 10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022, in Waterbury on Newbury Street.
According to Lt. Ryan Bessette of the Waterbury Police, officers responded to Newbury Street for a medical assistance complaint.
When officers arrived on the scene they found a woman, identified as Shelley Stamp, age 34, lying unresponsive on the floor of her apartment, Bessette said.
Anderson was helped in the murder by 39-year-old Shannon Gritzbach, of Waterbury, police said.
An investigation determined that Stamp had an altercation earlier in the day with two women.
Investigators further determined that the altercation became physical causing Stamp to become injured and that both women stole credit cards from Stamp before leaving the scene and making several purchases with the stolen credit cards, police said.
Family members of Stamp, who was an educator in Waterbury, were outraged by the sentence and were hoping for a life sentence, Fox61 reported.
Stamp's sister said during the sentencing hearing that she now suffers from PTSD and struggles with depression since the murder, Fox61 reported.
Fox16 said prosecutors said Anderson and Gritzback, pulled up to Stamp’s Newbury Street apartment as Stamp was coming home from work and attacked and robbed her. Stamp was found with a head wound and clothing wrapped around her neck.
“Our family is destroyed. We are at a loss. We will never mend. Time does not heal all wounds,” Stamp's mother Kathy Daversa told the news outlet. “My daughter lost the most precious gift in the world; she lost her life.”
Shannon Gritzbach is awaiting trial.
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