A KILLER girlfriend was a "weirdo" who was fascinated by the horror doll Chucky before she knifed her partner.
Old friends of Shaye Groves. 27, have said that she was always "strange" but none imagined that the serial-killer obsessed woman would commit such a horror.
An ex-pal, who went to school with Groves, from Havant, Hampshire, told MailOnline: "We used to hang out. Shaye was quite strange.
"She was unique, the way she dressed, what she was into - she used to like Chucky dolls and was interested in them.
"When she was younger she was different to what she is now - she was more girly. But, she was never like a girly girl and she always stood out from the crowd."
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The former friend explained that Groves even nicknamed fellow pupil Lauren White 'Chucky' after the creepy doll.
They added: "Lauren would do whatever Shaye wanted her to do.
"She was very manipulative – Lauren didn't have many friends and Shaye used to be the one there for her."
Another woman, who met Graves at a nightclub through Lauren, said that the murderess was a "weirdo".
They explained: "Shaye used to bully Lauren and make her do things.
"I've been out clubbing with her and Shaye was just a bit of a weirdo."
Groves plunged a blade, which she kept under her pillow, into boyfriend Frankie Fitzgerald's neck as he slept, before stabbing him 22 times.
The mum-of-one then video-called a friend, Vikki Baitup, and "giggled" as she showed her Frankie's body, saying: "I've done him".
Groves then told her she had a "really big secret" and begged her friend not to say anything.
Ms Baitup said: "That's when she went upstairs, went into her room, pointed the camera at [Frankie] and said 'I've done him'."
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The horrified friend at first asked if Groves was "having me on", causing the killer to show her Frankie wrapped in a duvet and lying on bin bags.
She said: "Groves got really close to the wound.
"I don't think I had really grasped what happened earlier. The gash was so deep - it was enormous."
Groves claimed she discovered Frankie was messaging a teen girl so she plunged the knife into his neck as he slept.
She ended the call by asking: "We're still friends aren't we?"
Before the brutal crime, Groves had developed an unhealthy obsession with serial killers and true crime.
She even had framed pictures of famous killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer and Myra Hindley, on her walls.
Her trial was told that she had previously joked about Fitzgerald ending up on the wall as there was "space for him".
Groves also had a collection of "decorative" daggers that featured depictions of film villains Chucky, Jigsaw from the Saw movies and IT clown Pennywise.
Chilling footage recently emerged showing her arrest after the friend she called reported the murder to police.
She was smoking in her dressing gown as she answered the door to cops, before telling officers she did not know "what the f**k happened".
Earlier this month, she smiled as she was convicted of murder at Winchester Crown Court.
On February 22 she was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 23 years.
A statement from her victim's family read: "As a parent you never expect to outlive your children, you will do anything in your power to protect them.
"Frankie was our baby, the youngest of five children he can never be replaced.
"He was a kind and beautiful person and sadly leaves two children behind that will never get to know their daddy. We thank the jury for their verdict today.
"To our Frankie, we love and miss you more than anything in this world. Your shining light will always be our hearts."
