Ellie Gould: mum of teenager brutally murdered by her ex calls for his 12-year sentence to be increased

Ellie Gould was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend Thomas Griffiths, who she had split up with after he pressured her to see him instead of revising for her exams
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The mother of a teenager murdered by her ex-boyfriend has said her daughter should be “working her socks off” at university - but instead they are preparing for a TV documentary on the killing.

Ellie Gould, 17, was studying for her A-level exams and never got the chance to find out her results or go to university after her ex, Thomas Griffiths, then 17, stabbed her at least 13 times in the face and neck in a brutal attack at her home.

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Her dad, Matthew, returned from work at lunchtime to find his daughter’s body on the kitchen floor in a pool of blood.

Ellie’s mum, Carole, 52, said the moment she heard the news she knew Griffiths was to blame.

Griffiths was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years and six months imprisonment after pleading guilty to murder at Bristol Crown Court in November 2019, but Carole is now fighting for his sentence to be increased.

The family are preparing for the documentary on the killing of Ellie which will discuss the brutal murder.

Ellie Gould with her mum Carole (Carole Gould / SWNS)Ellie Gould with her mum Carole (Carole Gould / SWNS)
Ellie Gould with her mum Carole (Carole Gould / SWNS)

‘She had a bright future’

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Carole, from Calne, Wiltshire, said: “It break my heart at this time of year that Ellie will never get to open her A-level results and have a future.

“She was so happy when she got her GCSE results and two years later, she was meant to be doing the same with her A-levels. She was working her socks off revising.

“We’d been looking at universities and she wanted to go and study psychology and go into the police. She’d even done a piece of work on child murders at school, and she’d felt they should be punished despite their age.

“She had a bright future, and it was stolen away from her.”

Ellie, who had dated Griffiths for three months, had ended the relationship so she could focus on her education - after he pressured her to come and see him instead of revising.

Thomas Griffiths, now 18, has been jailed for life with a minimum of twelve years six months - but the sentence is being reviewed after more than 100 complaints it was too lenient (SWNS)Thomas Griffiths, now 18, has been jailed for life with a minimum of twelve years six months - but the sentence is being reviewed after more than 100 complaints it was too lenient (SWNS)
Thomas Griffiths, now 18, has been jailed for life with a minimum of twelve years six months - but the sentence is being reviewed after more than 100 complaints it was too lenient (SWNS)
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Griffiths came to Ellie’s home in Calne and stabbed her with a kitchen knife in May 2019, before attempting to stage it as a suicide.

“The day that she was killed, she was at home revising waiting for her friend to pick her up to take her to her history class,” Carole said.

“My husband, Matthew, came home first and rang me hysterically. He said I had to come home, because Ellie had had a terrible accident. I jumped in the car and had all these thoughts rushing through my head, then a police car sped past me with the sirens on.

Ellie Gould: “She had a bright future, and it was stolen away from her"Ellie Gould: “She had a bright future, and it was stolen away from her"
Ellie Gould: “She had a bright future, and it was stolen away from her"

“There were so many ambulances and police cars outside the house that I had to park down the street, and I sprinted up the drive to find Matthew sobbing. I asked him what was happening, and he turned to me and said: ‘Ellie’s dead’.

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“Two officers sat us in the back of their police car, and asked who Ellie’s friends were, and if she had a boyfriend. When we were taken to the police station they told us this was now a murder inquiry. Me and Matthew just looked at each other and knew it was her boyfriend.”

Fighting for a tougher sentence

Since Ellie’s death, Carole has been petitioning for Griffiths’ sentence to be changed, and for tougher sentences for domestic murders.

“There is a 10 year difference in the minimum sentence if you kill someone in a home compared to if you kill someone in the street,” she said.

Carole with Ellie’s school project on child killers and their sentences (Tom Wren / SWNS)Carole with Ellie’s school project on child killers and their sentences (Tom Wren / SWNS)
Carole with Ellie’s school project on child killers and their sentences (Tom Wren / SWNS)

“Ellie’s death was horrific and intimate, yet the sentence is lesser. To me that’s diminishing women’s lives.

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“Griffiths had been showing controlling behaviour before he killed Ellie - he’d been pestering her to go to his house constantly.

“He’s a danger to women and should never be allowed out.”

Carole hopes talking about Ellie can help other young people recognise dangerous situations and relationships.

“Her friends have put together a film of healthy relationships,” she said. “I don’t mind if she’s talked about in schools if it can make a difference.”

The episode of Killer at the Crime Scene, about the murder of Ellie Gould, aired on 5star on Thursday (August 25) and is available to stream on My5.

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