A-LEVEL student Ellie Gould was a vivacious 17-year-old with a bright future ahead of her when she met Thomas Griffiths.
But when she split with him after a brief romance, because he was becoming too “controlling”, the cold-blooded teen, also 17, took revenge by stabbing her to death.
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He strangled Ellie before stabbing her 15 times in the kitchen of her own home in Calne, Wiltshire.
Leaving her to die in a pool of blood, he was later arrested and at Bristol Crown Court in November 2019, he was handed a life sentence.
This weekend, her loving parents Carole Gould OBE, 54, and husband, Matthew, 57, marked the painful anniversary of her death – which mirrored the murder from the recent Netflix drama Adolescence – by spending a day of quiet remembrance by the coast.
But six years on they’re still grappling with the devastating knowledge that despite their daughter’s violent murder, her killer’s life sentence, in this case, has not meant life.
Carole told The Sun: “The anniversary is a very painful day.
“People think we are alright but every day is hard. We will never get over this. How can we?
“The justice system let Ellie and our family down. She had bravely ended the relationship because he’d become too controlling.
“Less than 24 hours later, he murdered her, and it’s an insult we haven’t got the justice we deserve.
“Ellie was such a bright, bubbly, vivacious, popular young lady and to this day, the question I would still like to ask Griffiths is ‘why?’ Why did he do it?’ I want him to own it.
“He admitted he was guilty because he knew this would benefit him to help cut his sentence down and his final words to the police and his barrister were: ‘I blacked out; I can’t remember’ – but he knows exactly why. It’s disgusting.”
Hopes for change
Shockingly for Ellie’s family, Griffiths will be up for parole a lot sooner than anyone would expect.
It’s one of the main reasons why Carole is taking part in a challenging Channel 5 social experiment, called You Be the Judge: Crime & Punishment, hosted by Anne Robinson, on Tuesday.
The 90-minute programme – which reveals that 71 per cent of the British public think the justice system is too soft – will painstakingly reconstruct four real sentence hearings of convicted offenders, including Ellie’s.
They’ll then ask viewers what minimum sentence they would give if they were the court judge.
We haven’t included the details of the sentence Ellie’s murderer must serve – in order not to spoil proceedings ahead of the mock TV court hearing.
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“This is really bittersweet for me,” admitted Carole. “As obviously I wish this had never happened.
“But I am determined to seek a change in the law and that’s why I wanted to take part in this programme.
Anyone who is capable of stabbing, and strangling first, should in my mind stay locked up forever.
Carole Gould
“I hope the public will call for change after watching and it will be interesting to hear what viewers think Griffiths should have got. We certainly don’t believe his minimum sentence is justice for Ellie and it makes me so upset.
“In our world, we would like him to never see daylight again. That’s unrealistic with the current laws, I know, but anyone who is capable of stabbing, and strangling first, should in my mind stay locked up forever.”
A lot of the reasoning behind Griffith’s soft sentence was due to ‘mitigating circumstances’ – which include him admitting guilt before his plea hearing, not carrying a weapon to Ellie’s home, a character reference from his grandmother and not being an adult when he committed the crime (he was 17).
No justice
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Four groups, including former inmates and retired judges, will also give their views during the powerful TV doc that also highlights how our soft justice system can let celebrities, like Huw Edwards, walk away free.
The former BBC presenter was convicted as a paedophile last September following The Sun’s award-winning investigation.
“Paedophiles, rapists, murderers, violent people should all have the full thrust of the law,” stressed Carole.
“We need change and any campaign work, like The Sun’s call for a change in the law to sentencing of paedophiles, is important.”
And although she praised Channel 5 for carrying out the televised experiment to encourage a national debate, she says she is also furious Government Ministers and the Law Commission are dragging their feet.
New laws
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Ever since her daughter’s murder, Carole has been campaigning hard for new legislation.
In 2021, she successfully saw Ellie’s Law introduced that looks at increasing the term of sentence for teenage killers and sees someone like Griffiths treated more like an adult.
This law was instrumental in helping the Southport killer, Axel Rudakubana, who was 17 at the time of the horrific murders, receive a much longer sentence.
But this legislation has very little impact on murders which happen in the home, revealed Carol.
Ellie was such a bright, bubbly, vivacious, popular young lady and to this day, the question I would still like to ask Griffiths is ‘why?’ Why did he do it?’ I want him to own it.
Carol Gould, Ellie’s mum
The Law Commission was due to outline a timeline for how it would look to overhaul sentencing for homicides in January after announcing a review in December.
“But nothing so far has appeared,” she fumed.
“I have spent the last six years campaigning, so it’s not like the information isn’t out there. It’s unbelievable how things take so long. The Ministry of Justice deliberately misled the public.
“When you hear ‘imprisoned for life’, it doesn’t mean that at all. Our legal system is not fit for purpose. There needs to be a levelling up on sentencing – a murder that takes place in the home should be treated with the same respect as a street murder. So why haven’t they moved with the times yet?
“And why should it be up to me, a parent, to point out the failures?”
Call for more change
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Speaking directly to the Prime Minister via The Sun, she added: “I want to send a personal message to Sir Keir today.
“The Government’s duty is to protect the public, first and foremost, and the Ministry of Justice’s ineffectiveness to lock dangerous offenders up for a long time is not doing that and putting us all at risk.
“There seems to be no sense of urgency. The Labour government is dragging its feet and I can’t believe I am still having to point this out. “We are years away from any significant change and this is not what the public wants.
“We have had legal advice that says Secondary legislation could be implemented in months. So why isn’t it?”
No amount of legislation can bring Carole’s beautiful daughter Ellie back.
In March she received an OBE from Princess Anne at Buckingham Palace, for her work setting up a group, Killed Women, helping bereaved families, alongside co-founder Julie Devey, whose daughter, Poppy, was also murdered.
But, although an honour, Carole says it ‘very bittersweet.’
When you hear ‘imprisoned for life’, it doesn’t mean that at all. Our legal system is not fit for purpose.
Carol Gould, Ellie’s mum
Reflecting on the poignant day, she said: “People there were really happy because they had achieved something marvellous and we were there and to be honest, we didn’t really want any of it.
“There was an awkward moment when someone came up and said: ‘what are you getting your OBE for?’ And what do you say to that? “When you tell them, their jaws drop, it’s difficult.
“Moments before we went to meet Princess Anne, we were both in tears trying to pull ourselves together. But she was really nice and so supportive.”
Carole hopes TV programmes, like tonight’s special as part of the broadcaster’s Lawless Britain season, will help to apply more pressure.
“This programme is important and I hope the public will back us,” explained Carole. “I will continue to speak out until there is change.”
Netflix’s Adolescence – which follows a 13-year-old who has stabbed a schoolgirl to death after he rejected her – was, she adds, a hard watch but she hopes they will consider a sequel.
“It would be good if there was a follow-up Adolescence drama looking at it from the victim’s family perspective,” she said.
“This should never be my job to speak out but I hope after they read this today, Sir Keir Starmer and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood will have a face-to-face meeting to tell us why there is a delay overhauling our justice system. We need stronger sentences.”
- You be the Judge: Crime & Punishment, part of its Lawless Britain season, will air and stream on 5 from Tuesday 6th May at 9pm. For more information about Carole’s group helping families, go to https://www.killedwomen.org