The Murder of Ellie Gould
For this case, I watched an episode of Murder at My Door. It’s season 1 episode 1, titled ‘The Monster Among Us.’
A 17-year-old girl is found dead in her home in the U.K.
Background
Ellie Gould was born on February 6, 2002. Ellie lived with her parents, Matt and Carole, in Calne, Wiltshire. Ellie also had an older brother, and was close to her extended family that also lived in the area.
Ellie had a passion for riding horses. Her mom would drive her out to the stables, and watch her jump. Her mom, Carole also had a passion for horses, which is one of the many things that they bonded over.
Ellie attended the Hardenhuish School, and was a year 12. In the U.K, year 12 students are usually about 17-18 years old. She quickly made friends, and was very popular. Ellie was outgoing and bubbly, and was nice to everyone.
Ellie Gould
Carole and Ellie
The New Boyfriend
In January 2019, Ellie told her mom that a boy had asked her out. Carole said Ellie was really excited about it. His name was Thomas Griffiths, and he was from Derry Hills. He was very athletic and played rugby. Thomas had gone to school with Ellie for years. Ellie had liked him for awhile, and they had an on/off flirtation before dating.
The relationship didn’t last too long. Ellie seemed to have more serious things on her mind like school and her friends. The relationship between her and Thomas fizzled out.
Ellie broke things off with Thomas in May 2019. After Ellie broke things off with him, she had told her friends how relieved she was that she had ended things. Ellie had also told people that Thomas was pestering her.
The Crime Scene
The day after Ellie had ended things with Thomas was May 3, 2019. Carole described that morning as normal. Ellie woke up and had cereal for breakfast. Carole said she was leaving for work, and Ellie didn’t have any lessons at school that morning and stayed home. Ellie’s friend, also named Ellie, was going to pick her up at noon to go to school.
Ellie had texted her friend and said she was just going to stay home, and that she didn’t need a ride. Ellie’s dad, Matt arrived home around 3pm. He walked into the kitchen and found Ellie. Matt had gotten help from a neighbor, who called the first responders. Matt also called 999.
Ellie was found facedown. There was a large amount of blood. Ellie was also holding onto a knife in a way that looked like she had killed herself. Matt had called Carole to rush home. When she arrived, he told her that Ellie was dead. It was estimated that she had been dead for about 4 hours.
The Mysterious Guest
The police started to believe that Ellie may had died as a result of a homicide. Carole thought that it had just been a tragic accident. However, Matt told Carole that he thought there was too much blood for it to be an accident.
The police spoke to a neighbor of the Gould’s. The neighbor had seen someone at their home that day. They described seeing a young male with a slim build.
Thomas Griffiths became a suspect because he and Ellie had dated. The police contacted Ellie and Thomas’ friends to ask about the relationship. According to their friend group, Thomas was devastated by the break up. He spoke about wanting to hurt himself because of it.
When the police found Thomas, he had injuries on his neck. His demeanor was very odd, and he matched the description of the male that the neighbor had seen. Thomas was arrested, and held in jail while the police looked for more evidence.
Carole and Matt were shocked when they learned that a 17-year-old male had been arrested. The police weren’t able to tell them who the male was, but they knew in their hearts that Thomas had killed Ellie.
Thomas’s Story
Ellie’s friends had revealed that Thomas had been sending them messages on the day of the murder. He wrote that he was so stressed and didn’t know how to cope with it. He also sent all of them a picture, where scratches on his neck were visible. He said he was self harming. They all assured him that he could talk to them.
The police asked Thomas where he had been that day. He claimed he had been home all day studying. One of the first things he asked was if Ellie was okay.
He said he was dropped off at school by his mom, but immediately took the bus home because he wasn’t feeling well. He was seen on surveillance footage getting on the bus. Thomas’s mom returned home at 10:45am. Thomas said he hid in the wardrobe when he heard his mom inside the house.
While being held in jail, Thomas insisted that he didn’t know anything about Ellie’s death. He said he talked to his neighbors about how he was stressed and self harming. The neighbors remembered seeing scratch marks on his neck. Thomas asked his neighbor for a ride back to school, but once he returned, he spoke to the school nurse about self harming, and they called his mom. Thomas’s mom went to pick him up from school. It seemed like he was telling anyone who would listen about his problems.
Ellie’s parents eventually learned that Ellie had been strangled before she was stabbed.
Thomas’s Movements
The police analyzed Thomas’s phone records. At around 10:50am, his phone disconnected from his home WiFi, and reconnected around an hour later. At 10:53am, Thomas arrived at Ellie’s house. He then left at 11:51am. After hiding from his mom, he drove his silver Ford Fiesta to Ellie’s house.
The police obtained CCTV footage from a bus dash cam, which captured Thomas’s car. After Thomas returned home, he left again for about 18 minutes.
The police found a black trash bag in an area about 9 minutes from Thomas’s house. Inside, the police found bloody wash cloths and napkins. Thomas had washed his bloody clothing at his house in the washing machine. The police collected a pair of tennis shoes, which had Ellie’s blood on them.
The Guilty Plea
It’s believed that Thomas had planned this. Thomas went to Ellie’s house, strangled and stabbed her, and then went on to do many things to cover up his crime.
Around 11:45am, a text message had been sent from Ellie’s phone. The message was to her friend that was supposed to pick her up. It’s believed Thomas had used Ellie’s fingerprint to unlock the phone, and send the message. He put the knife in Ellie’s hand to reinsert it into one of her wounds. He also wanted to make it look like she had killed herself or had an accident.
In August, Thomas pled guilty, and gave a new version of what had happened. He said he drove to Ellie’s house to study. He said they began to argue. He said he remembered strangling Ellie, but couldn’t remember anything after that.
Thomas’s story was obviously not believable. He did many things to cover up the crime, and made it look like Ellie had killed herself. The motive is still not very clear, but maybe Thomas became upset by his break up with Ellie, and the fact that she was moving on with her life.
In November 2019, Ellie’s parents came face to face with Thomas at his sentencing. Carole said he wouldn’t look up. He was sentenced to life with a possibility of parole after 12 years. Thomas was just weeks away from turning 18, but was still considered a child at the time of the crime.
Ellie’s parents and friends were devastated by the sentence. Thomas’s lawyer read out an apology written by Thomas, but many people believe he’s not actually sorry. Thomas also spoke about his mental health at the time of the crime.
Thomas Griffiths
Other
In March 2021, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill was introduced. It’s also referred to as Ellie’s Law. This law allows teen killers to be treated as adults. Anyone convicted could be sentence to a minimum of 27 years. Carole really rallied for this, and you can just see how much she loves her daughter.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I believe Thomas was dealing with mental health issues. However, coming from someone who deals with anxiety, IT IS NOT AN EXCUSE. Many people who deal with mental health issues haven’t committed murder or other serious crimes. Thomas knew what he was doing when he drove to Ellie’s house. Ellie was in her home probably studying or getting ready for school, and thought she was safe. Thomas deserves a lot longer than 12 years in prison. He very well could do this to another person and blame it on his mental health if he’s ever released.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Ellie_Gould
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-wiltshire-63823585
https://www.wiltshirelive.co.uk/news/wiltshire-news/ellie-gould-what-happened-schoolgirls-7509603
https://metro.co.uk/2019/08/29/boy-admits-murdering-ellie-gould-17-found-dead-home-10650078/
