Obsessive ex-boyfriend ‘planted bugs in his ex’s house and checked them 302 times while she was on a passionate date with a new man before he went to the house and beat her to death’, court hears

An obsessive ex-boyfriend ‘planted bugs’ in his ex’s home and checked them 302 times while she was on a date with her new partner before he ‘beat her to death’, a court has heard.

Sheldon Rodrigues, 30, is said to have spent most of his night shift listening to his former partner Stephanie Hansen, 39, as she enjoyed a passionate date with her new boyfriend, Celcso Cabillan, the night before she was murdered.

It was claimed that Rodrigues remotely accessed the devices on his phone and was caught on CCTV checking and rechecking his handset and headset while he was said to be working as a freight agent at Heathrow Airport.

One clip shows him accessing the small camera he had buried in the carpet on the landing of the house they still shared, the Old Bailey heard.

Rodrigues then allegedly returned home from work on his electric bicycle in the early hours and waited for Mr Cabillan to leave before stabbing and bludgeoning Ms Hansen to death, it was claimed.

Ms Hansen (pictured) is said to have been beaten to death by her ex-boyfriend, who denies killing her

He then set out to trap Mr Cabillan, jurors heard.

During his shift at work before the murder, Rodrigues – who denies the murder – was seen on CCTV touching his earphones, putting his finger to his ear or adjusting his earpiece.

The jury heard how he had one earbud in his ear while he attacked the other so he could listen in all the time.

PC Chris Hough told the court he made 302 movements with his phone or headphones.

“He took out one button to charge it and then switched,” the officer said.

“He had one button on the go, while the other was charging.

About the camera: ‘The camera may have been on the floor in the middle of the landing.’

On December 10, 2022, less than three weeks before Ms Hansen was murdered, Rodrigues was stopped by police for following her boyfriend Celcso Cabillan in a friend’s car.

Rodrigues – of Willenhall Drive, Hayes, west London – sat in the passenger seat of the car, with the friend driving and the driver’s children in the back of the car.

The driver and Rodrigues had waited until Mr Cabillan left work at Heathrow Airport before following him.

Mr Cabillan was so shocked that he called the police and gave them the registration number.

When police questioned Rodrigues, he said, “(We were) looking for a nice place to eat with the kids and that must have been a misunderstanding.”

Rodrigues and Ms Hansen both worked as freight agents at Heathrow and briefly dated in 2014.

Forensics are searching for clues after Ms Hansen was found dead on New Year’s Eve last year

Police cars rushed to the house where Ms Hansen was found dead on New Year’s Eve 2022

The court heard how Rodrigues had become ‘obsessed’ with Ms Hansen and rejected the idea that they should be anything more than friends.

He then allegedly returned home from work at 6.49am to attack Ms Hansen, who was found naked from the waist down in her bloodstained pajamas.

The court heard the stabbing was so brutal that the knife slipped from his hand, seriously injuring Rodrigues. He was later seen on CCTV buying bandages for a cut he claimed he got from ‘doing some housework’.

Mr Cabillan had gone to the house when his messages to Ms Hansen went unanswered and he was seen banging on the door for half an hour before returning to his home in Feltham.

It was then claimed that Rodrigues spent more than 24 hours in the house with Ms Hansen’s lifeless body before calling an ambulance, in an attempt to pin the blame on Mr Cabillan.

Ms Hansen was found dead on December 31 last year.

In the call to the operator, Rodrigues said, “I just found my roommate’s body. I just went to her room. I found her dead there.

‘I think her boyfriend did something to her. He stayed here two nights ago. There’s also blood splattered all over the room.’

The process continues.