Murder of Ellie Gould

Ellie Gould (6 February 2002 – 3 May 2019) was a 17-year-old English sixth form student from Calne, Wiltshire, who was stabbed to death on 3 May 2019 by Thomas Griffiths, a fellow student at her school, who was also 17 at the time. Griffiths stabbed Gould after she ended their relationship of three months. Griffiths was subsequently charged with Gould's murder, and pleaded guilty at Bristol Crown Court, where he was sentenced in November 2019 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of twelve-and-a-half years in custody before becoming eligible for parole. Because he was under 21 at the time of sentencing the law prevented him from receiving a whole life tariff.

A campaign launched by Gould's friends to have self-defence lessons taught in schools was debated in Parliament, and an education minister agreed to issue guidelines for schools wishing to hold self-defence classes. Gould's mother, Carole, subsequently campaigned to have the law changed to enable young offenders to be treated more like adults when convicted of serious crimes, such as murder. Her campaign for "Ellie's Law" led to the presentation of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill by Robert Buckland, the Secretary of State for Justice, to the House of Commons on 9 March 2021.