Ellie Gould: Mother of murdered teenager calls for sentencing change

Ellie, 17, was a pupil at Hardenhuish School in Chippenham

The mother of a murdered teenager says she "will not rest" until sentences are increased for killers who use a weapon they find at the scene.

Ellie Gould, from Wiltshire, was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by Thomas Griffiths, then 17, in 2019.

Carole Gould successfully campaigned for tougher sentences for teenage killers, known as Ellie's Law.

She has now joined the Killed Women campaign, launched to tackle male violence against women.

Unable to accept 17-year-old Ellie wanted to break up with him, Griffiths attacked the teenager at her family home in Calne.

He was sentenced to a minimum of 12-and-a-half years in prison, with his age at the time of the crime a factor in the jail term he would face.

Thomas Griffiths killed Ellie in her family home

"Griffiths came into our house, he strangled Ellie, she was fighting desperately back, scratching his face and he didn't stop," Mrs Gould said.

"He then picked up a knife, and he stabbed her 13 times in the neck... and then just walked out of the house as if nothing had happened.

"His punishment for that was 12-and-a-half-years and I will never let it rest until we get proper justice," she added.

Mrs Gould said the Killed Women campaign will be seeking tougher sentences for people who kill using a weapon they have not taken to the scene.

'Insulting'

She said: "The law, as it stands at the moment is that if you take a knife out into the street and kill somebody, the starting point for sentencing is 25 years.

"If you pick up a knife in the home and murder somebody, the starting point for sentencing is 15 years. There is this 10-year difference."

Mrs Gould said women were predominantly killed in the home. She believes the difference in sentencing rules is "insulting" and "diminishing the value of women's lives".

Carole Gould said her daughter Ellie would have wanted her to "keep fighting"

Mrs Gould will be meeting with the Ministry of Justice in the new year following a review of domestic homicide sentences.

She said she would "not accept anything less than a levelling up of these sentencings".

"We want these punishments to fit the crime and that is where the power of Killed Women will come in," she added.

A government spokesperson said tackling domestic homicide was a "key priority".

They said it had invested more than £230m into a plan to tackle domestic abuse in March - which included £140m to support victims and £81m to tackle perpetrators.