Sex, Deception, and Murder: The Chilling Story of Shaye Groves and the Brutal Death of Frankie Fitzgerald - "Best of Body Bags"

Body Bags with Joseph Scott Morgan

CrimeOnline and iHeartPodcasts

True Crime

4.8 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of "Body Bags," we unravel the harrowing story of Shaye Groves, a woman consumed by her obsession with serial killers and ultimately implicated in the brutal murder of her boyfriend, Frankie Fitzgerald Delving into the chilling fascination that permeated her life and relationships, the hosts uncover the disturbing evidence that led to the gruesome crime. Hosts Joseph Scott Morgan and Dave Mack explore the challenges investigators face when encountering an unfamiliar crime scene and the unsettling environment they discover including a macabre collection of serial killer images and the couple's history of violent, videotaped sex acts. They discuss Shaye Groves' possible premeditation of the murder, her manipulation and blackmail of previous partners through recorded sex acts, and her meticulous execution of the crime, such as using bleach to clean up the scene.

Shownotes:

00:20 - Intro to case.

02:10 - Dave Mack gives background and overview of case.

04:10 - What impact did having serial killer images in her home have on Shay Groves and her mindset?

05:25 - The disturbing nature of Shay Groves' obsession and how it relates to the crime and her life.

07:10 - Shay Groves and Frankie Fitzgerald's romantic relationship and Shaye's controlling nature.

09:25 - Challenges investigators face when entering an unfamiliar crime scene and disturbing evidence and how their first impressions can impact their investigation.

11:50 - The couple's history of violent sex acts captured on video and how this escalated.

14:00 - The use of bleach in morgue cleanups and how the smell of bleach can linger, connecting it to the crime scene.

15:10 - Possibility of Shea Groves planning the murder and the use of bleach to clean the crime scene.

19:50 - Shea's obsession with serial killers, dark imagery, and the types of knives used in the murder.

21:55 - JoScott talks about the differences between single-edged and double-edged knife wounds.

24:40 - The catastrophic loss of blood that led to Frankie's death and Shaye’s possible motives and methods during the attack.

26:40 - Determining if any wounds were inflicted post-mortem and whether the crime was a torture event or a dark fantasy acted out by Shaye.

28:54 - Outro.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Body bags with Joseph Scott Morgan.
0:11.0	My wife likes to say that she loves love. Now, I think that all of us have this kind of romanticized
0:25.6	view of what it means to love somebody. But for some, I guess their perception of love or the way
0:33.1	love is expressed is in a different atmosphere from many of us.
0:40.0	I've never thought of integrating the term knife play into an expression that even
0:47.3	remotely resembles romantic love.
0:51.2	But the case I'm going to lay on you today is beyond anything I've covered,
0:57.5	really. It doesn't occur here in the U.S. It's actually in Great Britain, England specifically,
1:03.7	which I've traveled to many times and that I have an incredible affection for. But what happened
1:10.6	in this little town, in this space, is
1:14.4	absolutely beyond the pale. Today I'm going to talk about the murder of Frankie Fitzgerald
1:20.8	and his girlfriend that perpetrated this crime. Shake Robs. I am Joseph Scott Morgan, and this is Body Pax.
1:32.3	Dave Mack, my good buddy, who's a senior crime reporter for crime online.
1:38.0	I want to apologize to you in advance for springing this case on you.
1:42.4	There's no saying on the South.
1:43.9	Some people say, you get something in your mind saying on the South. Some people say you get something
1:45.6	in your mind that's so horrible. They'll actually say, well, thanks. I'm going to have to slaughter a hog,
1:50.3	get that image out of my mind. And in this particular case, I got to tell you, it ranks right up there.
1:56.1	All the stuff that we cover on body bags. I need some moral reorientation here, perhaps. Maybe you can offer that up, Dave.
2:03.4	I don't know. I don't think I have a degree in psychology or sociology that could help break this down,
2:09.3	Joe. But I will tell you this, there's an old saying, Pretty is as Pretty does. And this 27-year-old
2:16.1	Shea-groves is physically attractive on the outside.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in -67 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from CrimeOnline and iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of CrimeOnline and iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.