07 February 2024 , 14:29
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The mum of a 17-year-old girl who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend has revealed her heartbreaking realisation about the evil killer on her daughter's birthday.
Aspiring police officer and A-level student Ellie Gould was viciously murdered by her former partner of three months, Thomas Griffiths, also 17, at her family home in Calne, Wiltshire, after she broke up with him on May 3, 2019. He began strangling her, then stabbed her 13 times in the neck.
Griffiths pleaded guilty to murder at Bristol Crown Court, where he was sentenced in November 2019 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12-and-a-half years in custody, before becoming eligible for parole. Because of his age at the time of sentencing the law prevented him from receiving a whole life tariff.
Ellie's mum posted on X on Tuesday - what would have been her daughter's 22nd birthday - that Griffiths could be moved to an open prison in four years' time, and given day-release privileges. In the post, which includes a photo of Ellie blowing out candles on a birthday cake, she wrote: "5 years ago today at 17 Ellie blew out her birthday candles for the last time.
"The monster who violently took her life could be in an open prison in 4 years time on day release celebrating HIS birthday with HIS family . HOW IS THAT JUSTICE ?#endviolenceagainstwomenandgirls."
Double killer who slit girlfriend's throat within weeks of release jailed
Carole with Ellie when she was two (Carole Gould / SWNS)
Thomas Griffiths was jailed for 12 and a half years in 2019 (PA)Ever since Griffiths' conviction, Ellie's parents have been tirelessly campaigning for a review of the justice system - both for young offenders and also for murders carried out in the home. Carole previously told the Mirror: "I was devastated when he was sentenced but we had been pre-warned.
"Then he was sentenced to 12 years but the judge talked about the aggravating factors and added another five years, taking the total to 17 years. However, the court was obliged to make a reduction because of his early guilty plea and then there were statements from his family and friends to say this was out of character, so his sentence was 12-and-a-half years."
The Mirror this month launched a campaign - Justice for our Daughters – to help the bid to stop domestic violence killers being jailed for a decade less than other murderers. Carole said: "They're basically saying our daughters' lives aren't worth as much as somebody being killed on the street."
Griffiths' minimum term of 12 years and six months works out as 15 years minus three-and-a-half years for being aged under 18. The sentence would have been 10 years more had the crime been in the street. Carole, 53, said: "If somebody stabbed somebody once in a park that's worth 25 years. Surely multiple stabbing in the home should be worth at least the same starting point."
She added: "It feels to me that it's male-on-male violence in the street and their lives are worth more. Whereas it's male-on-female violence in the home – and those female lives are worth 10 years less." Carole co-founded action group Killed Women with another grieving mum Julie Devey, 60. They are among those trying to force the Government to raise the minimum jail term for domestic murders.
Julie's daughter Poppy Devey Waterhouse was 24 when she was stabbed dozens of times by her ex Joe Atkinson. As she was murdered in the flat they shared, his minimum term was determined using 15 years as the starting point, not 25.
Grieving Carole Gould is campaigning for a change in the law (Tom Wren / SWNS)The different minimum tariffs can hinge on whether the killer took the weapon to the scene of the crime. The perpetrator will have done so in most attacks that aren't in homes, which is why those murders meet the criteria for a 25-year minimum tariff. With domestic violence, the killers often use a weapon that was already in the property. That means their minimum tariff will be 15 years, plus any extra time for aggravating factors.
Julie and Carole want a 25-year minimum for any murder with a weapon (except guns, which already has a term of at least 30 years). The public consultation on the proposals runs until March 4. The Mirror is urging readers to register their support for the law change with the Ministry of Justice.
The Mirror has contacted the MoJ for further information.