Mother of teenager murdered by ex warns ‘end of a relationship is the most dangerous time in a woman’s life’

As knife crime against women and girls rises, Lydia Patrick talks to the families who have lost their loved ones to violent ex-partners

Ellie Gould was only 17 years old when she was killed by Thomas Griffiths in her home. Her mother is campaigning for a 25-year starting point for sentencing (PA Media)

A grieving mother whose 17-year-old daughter was killed by an ex-boyfriend has warned that the ending of a relationship is the most dangerous time in a woman’s life.

Carole Gould has relentlessly campaigned for justice for women killed by men since her daughter Ellie was stabbed and strangled to death by her partner of three months after she ended the relationship.

Thomas Griffiths was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 and-a-half years in 2019 after he walked into Ellie’s family home, strangled her then stabbed her 13 times, attempting to frame the attack as a suicide by inserting the knife in the side of her neck.

Thomas Griffiths, 17, pleaded guilty to murdering Ellie Gould in Calne, Wiltshire (Wiltshire Police)

Mrs Gould, 53, is hoping the government’s consultation on knife crime will address a legal loophole and allow for tougher sentences. As it stands, murderers who kill their victims with a knife in the home face a 15-year sentencing starting point whilst sentences for those outside the home face at least 25.

It comes as the Independent reveals knife crime against women is at a five-year high after obtaining data from 26 police forces across England, Wales and Northern Ireland through the Freedom of Information Act.

Mrs Gould is petrified her daughter’s killer could harm another woman as he is set to be released before he turns 30.

“She’d only been going out with him for a few months,” her mother said. “There were warning signs from the start, she’d only been going out with him a few days and he was saying how much he was going to spend on her for her birthday, he was clingy with her at school and possessive.”

“The weird thing was he lied to her saying his family had two villas including one with a swimming pool in Mallorca. He was clearly a compulsive liar.

“It was her first relationship so it was exciting to her to start with and she would see him most nights after school.”

Ellie’s mother is campaigning for tougher sentences following her loss (PA)

Mrs Gould says Griffiths was jealous at the prospect of Ellie moving away to university: “Her friends disclosed to me he had become quite clingy with her in the common room and that he was talking about marriage and kids.

“The day before it happened she was in the common room playing a game and her top went up a bit and he pulled at her.

“She told him to back off and he wouldn’t have liked that at all. She told me about it and I told her he sounded very possessive and asked her what she wanted to do, she told me she was going to sort it out.”

The next day, after Ellie ended the relationship over text message, Griffiths killed her in her family home.

Reflecting on the toxic relationship, Ms Gould said: “The ending of a relationship is the most dangerous time in a woman’s life.”

Hollie Gazzard was killed by an ex-boyfriend she had tried to leave (Provided)

Nick Gazzard also lost his daughter Hollie to a violent ex-boyfriend, when she was stabbed 14 times 10 years ago in the Gloucester hair salon she worked in.

The 20-year-old had tried to leave Asher Maslin after he became abusive but he bombarded her with threatening messages.,

“She was receiving constant calls to the point she was having to turn her phone off at night, constant texts, he was always appearing when she was out with friends,” her father said.

Mr Gazzard, 59, set up a trust in her memory and now educates others on the warning signs of an abusive relationship. Commenting on the rise in violence against women and girls, he said: “She lived at home under my roof but we had no idea it was going on. Now we know the warning signs, there were constant calls, he was always appearing when she was out with friends.

“A lot of people think ‘it won’t happen to me’ but domestic abuse is not selective, it does not matter how rich you are, what background you are from and what your parents do.”

Mr Gazzard explained his concerns about problematic male role models online which he believes has led to an increase in sexist attitudes towards women and girls.

Asher Maslin was ordered to serve a minimum of 24 years in prison (PA)

“Some of the influencers that are around are not good role models to men, I think negative attitudes towards women have increased. We see and hear misogynistic comments much more than we used to.

“We need to improve awareness of these issues and give individuals the tools to be able to intervene safely when these things are happening, whether that’s physical or verbal. We need to give more support to women.”

Mr Gazzard also blamed underfunding across the spectrum of public services including local councils, support services, the police, the NHS and charities for the escalating crisis.

He said: “We cannot get any funding to be able to do what we need to do. If it weren’t for charities like ours, we’d be in a hell of a mess, there is no support from the government and we have to raise it all ourselves, it’s getting harder and harder due to austerity and the cost-of-living crisis.”

Valerie Forde and her 24-month-old daughter Jahzara were stabbed to death by her ex-partner Roland McKoy in March 2014.

Valerie Forde and Jahzara were killed by Ms Forde’s ex (Sistah Space)

Ms Forde also attempted to escape from her ex-partner and reported his abuse to the Metropolitan Police six weeks before she was killed. But the police recorded the incident as a ‘threat to property’ instead of a threat to life.

The mother had given her ex-partner until 31 March to leave their home, on that day she grew frightened of McKoy’s behaviour and phoned her other daughter, who in turn called the police after hearing screams.

The Met police “failed the two victims after they arrived at the property and left after six minutes”,an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation concluded in June 2021.

Roland McKoy, who killed ex-partner with a machete, was jailed for 35 years (PA/Metropolitan Police)

At the time, Commander Lucy D’Orsi said: “I have apologised to Valerie’s family for our failings during the investigation into the abuse that Valerie suffered.

“I cannot begin to imagine how difficult this time has been for Valerie’s family and the impact it has had and continues to have upon them.

“An independent review has also been carried out. The learning from that review will assist us in how we deal with some of the most vulnerable members of the community, those who face domestic abuse.”

Ngozi Fulani, who set up Sistah Space to advocate for black female victims of domestic abuse in the wake of the deaths, said: “We have seen a significant rise in reporting to us of knife or sharp instrument attacks. We find perpetrators from all different backgrounds and demographics will use weapons."