Thomas Griffiths a teenager from England has admitted to the murder of seventeen year old Ellie Gould. According to court documents Thomas was over at the home of Ellie Gould when he brutally attacked the teenage girl stabbing her to death. This teen killer would plead guilty to the murder and will be sentenced later this year and has been told by the judge to expect a long sentence for the brutal murder
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A 17-year-old boy has appeared in court to plead guilty to murdering A-level student Ellie Gould in her own home.
Thomas Griffiths admitted killing the teenager during a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday morning.
He was named after the lifting of reporting restrictions that previously barred the media from identifying him.
Judge Peter Blair said Thomas Griffiths, who will be sentenced on 8 November, had admitted an “extremely grave crime”.
Year 12 pupil Ellie, 17, died from multiple stab wounds at her family home in Calne, Wiltshire, on 3 May.
Griffiths, of Derry Hill, Wiltshire, spoke only to confirm his name and reply “guilty” when the murder charge was put to him.
He had initially denied having seen Ellie that day, or in the days before her death.
Speaking after the hearing, temporary detective chief inspector Jim Taylor said: “Ellie was murdered as a result of a violent attack.
“Ellie was in her first year of sixth form and was looking forward to the next steps in her education.
“Her parents have told me that she was considering a career in the police and had been looking into attending university.
“The options available to Ellie were endless but her hopes and dreams will now sadly never be realised.”
DCI Taylor added: “While I am pleased that Ellie’s family will not have to endure a lengthy trial process in court which would have caused them further distress, I know just how difficult this whole period has been for them.
“They should have been enjoying the school holidays with their daughter, but instead, they are coming to terms with the fact she has been cruelly taken away from them in unthinkable circumstances.”
Ellie’s family previously described the keen horse rider and animal-lover as “fun-loving and a joy to be around”.
They added: “We would like Ellie to be remembered as a kind, caring young lady with a wonderful, fun personality.”
Lisa Percy, headteacher of Hardenhuish School in Chippenham, where Ellie attended, said pupils and staff were “absolutely devastated” by her death.
“Ellie was an extremely popular student in our lower sixth form, who was preparing for her A-levels the following year,” she said.
“She was popular, friendly and very talented, and understandably her death has hugely impacted on our school.
“Her close-knit group of friends have shown strength beyond their young years in the months that have followed Ellie’s death, and have supported one another extraordinarily well.
“Our thoughts continue to remain with Ellie’s family at this time.”
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A teenager who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death will not have his 12-and-a-half year sentence increased.
The family of Ellie Gould, 17, had called for a tougher sentence for Thomas Griffiths, who was also 17 when he murdered her at her home in Calne, Wiltshire, in May.
The Attorney General ruled he could not refer the case to the Court of Appeal as the sentence was not unduly lenient.
Ms Gould’s family said they were “bitterly disappointed”.
Last month, Griffiths admitted stabbing Ellie repeatedly in the neck in a “frenzied attack” before trying to make it appear her wounds were self-inflicted.
The court heard Griffiths spent an hour at the house before he drove home, changed his clothes and dumped a bag of Ellie’s items in a wood.
His case was referred to the Attorney General’s office under the unduly lenient sentence scheme which received “in excess of 101” referrals asking him to examine the prison term handed down by Bristol Crown Court last month.
A spokesperson said: “After careful consideration the Attorney General has concluded that he could not refer this case to the Court of Appeal.”
They said a referral could only be made if a sentence “is not just lenient but unduly so, such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range of sentences reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence”.
“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met in this case,” it said
Following the decision, the Gould family said they were disappointed that “once again the British justice system has not only let us but also the nation down”.
“When the Attorney General quotes in his letter to us that Griffiths’ crime not only shocked him, but also the nation, yet doesn’t feel it is appropriate to refer it to the Court of Appeal to have the lenient sentence reviewed, there is something very wrong with criminal justice in Britain today.
“All we can do as a family is fight Griffiths’ parole when the time comes, to keep such a dangerous individual off Britain’s streets and keep the public safe.”
