‘Is my girlfriend okay?’ Small brands expose 17-year-old British killer

British teenager Ellie Gould had no idea that when she opened the door for her ex-boyfriend, he would strangle her and stab her to death.

The 17-year-old was killed just one day after she broke up with Thomas Griffiths, also 17, to focus on her school exams.

The shocking murder in May 2019, featured in the new Murder At My Door series in the UK, left Gould’s family devastated.

“It was heartbreaking. No mother should take the cold hand of her murdered child. That is wrong. That is disgusting. That is horrible,” Carole Gould told The Sun.

The couple, who had met in high school, had only been dating for three months before he became “possessive” and murdered Gould.

They had known each other for several years before becoming a couple. Griffiths was Gould’s first boyfriend.

And while she was “flattered” that he had asked her out, the teen’s mother said they were never a good couple.

“There was nothing extraordinary about him, he was really quiet. He had dinner with us and he didn’t have much to say about himself. But he was her first boyfriend and we assumed he would fade away,” she told The Dom.

However, on the night of May 3, 2019, Griffiths brutally murdered Gould, using his finger to unlock his phone and text his friends to try to make it look like he had committed suicide.

Telltale signs

Griffiths initially tried to claim that he had not been near the family’s home in Wilshire, a county in south-west England, but the marks on his face were telltale signs for investigators.

Gould, who had hopes of joining the police force, was studying for his mock exams when Griffiths knocked on his door. She had broken up with him the night before.

But despite Griffiths’ web of lies, the police were able to reveal that he was behind her murder.

“When he was seen by officers, he showed marks, fresh marks on his face that looked like scratch marks,” Detective Superintendent Jim Taylor said.

“They looked like classic defense wounds, and on that basis, he was rightly arrested on suspicion of the murder of Ellie Gould.”

Police also revealed that Griffiths claimed he had not been to Ellie’s home that day, but his smartphone revealed that he had been at the location and CCTV footage also showed her car driving away from her home at the time of the murder. .

“His initial response to being arrested was, ‘Is my girlfriend okay? I haven’t seen her today,'” Taylor said.

“So he is immediately trying to lay the foundation for his lies and deceptions.”

Griffiths stabbed Ellie several times in the neck before dumping various items in the woods and returning to school.

He also sent a chilling text message with a selfie to a group of friends explaining that he “scratched” himself from stress.

“I think everyone noticed that I’ve been [sic] lately and I need to tell you why, “the Griffiths text read.” Ellie and I are going to take a break and see how things are going after the exams. In addition to this, my dad has cancer and my grandmother has been to the hospital for heart problems.

“I’ve been very stressed lately and I don’t know how to deal with it.

“I’ve been scratching around my neck and since this group has become my best friends, I don’t know who else to talk to x.”

However, Griffiths had just committed murder and lied to police about his whereabouts, saying that after his mother dropped him off at school, he returned home because he was ill.

Instead, after she killed Gould, she washed her shoes in the sink, cleaned the knife with an apron, and used her phone to text a friend that she should pick her up and take her to school, telling her not to come. Sun reported.

‘Possessive’

Gould had confided to his mother that Griffiths had become “possessive” in the run-up to his murder.

“He kept saying, ‘Doesn’t it bother you that we don’t meet after school?’ he told his mom.

‘See you at school, so what’s the problem with not seeing each other afterwards, just teasing?’ “

Gould’s mother told her that she “didn’t want to date someone like that,” and soon after broke up with Griffith.

He killed her the next day.

Gould’s body was discovered by his father, Matthew, around 3 p.m. when he returned home from work.

“Matt called me at work, absolutely hysterical, saying ‘Carole, you have to go home. Ellie has had an accident,'” Carole Gould told The Sun.

“I was so taken aback because I had never heard him so hysterical.

“I was out of work. All I could think of was that Ellie had cut herself because he doesn’t like to see blood.”

However, after initially thinking that her death was a tragic accident, the police later told the heartbroken family that Ellie had been murdered.

Griffiths, who was arrested two days later, eventually pleaded guilty but declined to explain why he took Gould’s life.

He was sentenced to 12 and a half years behind bars in November 2019, six months after the murder, but he is eligible to request a review after serving half his sentence if he can demonstrate good behavior.

Carole Gould has previously said that she should turn at least 17, equal to her daughter’s age, given her lack of remorse.

“We, as Ellie’s parents, want answers from Griffiths: how could he carry out such an evil brutal murder against our beautiful, kind, caring and gentle Ellie, whom he was supposed to care for and why did he do it? ” she said.

Carole Gould is now campaigning for victims of domestic violence in the UK.

WHERE TO GET HELP

• 0800 543 354 (0800 LIFELINE) or free text 4357 (HELP) (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
• https://www.lifeline.org.nz/services/suicide-crisis-helpline
• YOUTH LINE: 0800 376 633
• I NEED TO TALK? Toll Free or Text 1737 (Available 24/7)
• KIDSLINE: 0800 543 754 (available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)
• WHATSUP: 0800 942 8787 (from 1:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.)
• DEPRESSION HELPLINE: 0800 111757 or TEXT 4202
• NATIONAL ANXIETY 24 HOUR HELP LINE: 0800 269 4389