Ellie Gould’s mother has spoken out to say that there was no warning sign or red flag that the ex-boyfriend of her daughter would be a’such an evil monster’ in a relationship lasting three months.

Thomas Griffiths was 17 years old when he met Ellie Gould. She was also 17 at the time.

Ellie decided that she wanted to be a mounted officer and ended their three-month relationship. She now wants to concentrate on her A levels.

The next day, Thomas left school and went to Ellie’s house, where he murdered her in a frenzied attack, left the knife in her hand to make it look like she had killed herself, and then abandoned her in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor before going back to school.

Carole, Ellie’s mother, says she still doesn’t get why her daughter died two years later. She also said that it was a blatant crime.

MTV’s True Life Crime UK asked her how her husband called her in hysterics after she discovered their daughter’s dead body. At first, she believed it to be an accident. Then the police proved it was murder.    

Thomas Griffiths, then 17, from Wiltshire, was in a relationship with Ellie Gould (pictured) also 17, until the day before her death in 2019

Thomas Griffiths was 17 years old when he moved to Wiltshire with Ellie Gould, also 17. She died the day after her birthday in 2019.

Now, speaking about her daughter's death two and a half years on, Ellie's mother Carole (pictured with MTV presenter Linda Adey) says that she 'still doesn't understand why it happened' and that the murder 'makes no sense'.

Now, speaking about her daughter’s death two and a half years on, Ellie’s mother Carole (pictured with MTV presenter Linda Adey) says that she ‘still doesn’t understand why it happened’ and that the murder ‘makes no sense’.

“My husband called me and said that Ellie has had an accident, so you have to get home.” 

I kept wondering “What’s her done?” But then I thought, “Why are she here? She should be at School!”

‘When I arrived on the drive, I saw Matt sobbing and a police man stopped me and asked who I was,  and I said “I’m Ellie’s mother, what’s happened?” Matt looked at me and said “She’s dead.”

‘I wasn’t allowed in the house, Matt and I were discussing what could have been, I said “Do you think she put a knife in the toaster and fell back and hit her head” and he just couldn’t speak and he suddenly said to me “There was too much blood, Carole” and  I couldn’t imagine what that means.

He’s not able to speak about it. [finding her body].   

“You didn’t think your world would turn upside down and be ruined in one moment. That’s exactly what happened.

After three months together, Ellie, who dreamt of joining the mounted police, decided to break off the relationship to focus on her A-levels. The next day, Thomas (pictured) left school and went to Ellie's house, where he murdered her in a frenzied attack, left the knife in her hand to make it look like she had killed herself, and then abandoned her in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor before going back to school.

Ellie decided that after three months of being together she would no longer be able to pursue her dream to join the Mounted Police. Thomas left school the next morning and went to Ellie’s house to murder her. He left her with a bloody knife and made it appear that she was actually killing herself.

‘I don’t understand,  over a three month relationship at the age of 17, it just makes no sense, there were no red flags, there were no warning signs that he was such a monster.  

“He strangled Ellie, and after she collapsed unconscious on the floor, he attacked her.”

Griffiths was 20 years old when he was driven by his mother to school on the morning of May 3rd.

After he got off school, he took the bus back to his home. Then, illegitimately driving to Ellie’s house without a permit, he strangled Ellie and then stabbed him to death.

As a cover for his actions, he placed Ellie’s knife in her hands to make it seem like she had taken her own life. Then he abandoned Ellie on the kitchen floor in a pool blood while returning to school.

Timeline: What did you see on the morning of the murder 

1. Griffiths was driven by his mother to school

2. He returned secretly by bus home

3. Illegally drove Ford Fiesta from Ellie’s home to Ellie, arriving at 10.58am

4. I beat her and sent a message to a friend to inform them that she wouldn’t be going to school on the day.

5. At 11.51 a.m., I left and went back to school 

6. Ellie’s dad found her body around 3pm.

Ellie used her thumb to unlock the phone. He sent Ellie Welling a message to let her know she did not want to go to school and that she would rather pick her up at home.

A chippenham school matron offered support to the teenager. Ellie sent him messages to let them know he was unable to reach Ellie. When her father returned to his home, he found her body dead.  

Ellie Welling spoke out about the death of her friend.

My name was not mentioned as I was supposed to take Ellie to school.

“I explained to the police that I was supposed to pick her up, but she had told me that she did not like going to school.  This was strange because she had promised to me that she would come in, as we didn’t both like history. 

‘Initially I thought that she was going for a walk, and her mother had returned. But then she disappeared and so I panicked and called police.

“But then, police said she told me that she’d died.

“I burst in tears. They asked me if they’d seen her. Where were I? At that time I wasn’t suspicious of anything.

“When they arrested Tom, I thought they had the wrong person. There was no way that he would do this.

It was Tom, who she later found out had sent her a text using Ellie’s phone in order to make certain that she did not find her.  

MTV interviewed Ellie’s friends who stated that Tom was “nice” and “nobody expected it to happen”.     

Ellie's friends Ellie and Tilda spoke to the show - they are pictured with presenter Linda Adey

Ellie’s friends Ellie and Tilda spoke to the show – they are pictured with presenter Linda Adey 

He sent Snapchat messages to group chats after he had killed her, stating that he was struggling and that he had been rubbing his neck from nerves.

However, these marks were actually defensive injuries Ellie inflicted while she attempted to escape.   

Tilda (a school friend) explained that they were friends. Tom was in a relationship with Ellie when Ellie got married. He was reserved, but was an affectionate boy.

“This was her first real, serious relationship. He made her smile and made her laugh.

After he killed her he sent messages in group chats on Snapchat saying he was having a hard time and had been scratching his neck due to nerves.

Following his murder, he wrote messages on Snapchat in group chats to say he was having trouble and that nerves were causing him to scratch his neck.

Two months into the relationship, he had become more invested than her in it, and he started talking about children and marriage. It was alarming for her.

In an Instagram message, she also shared how Tom became a killer.

“I checked Instagram, and I saw that someone had written: Has anyone heard from Tom? There are police cars at his home.” 

“I remember just thinking, “What’s the point?” Who would kill such an amazing and innocent girl?

Harriet, another friend, said that Ellie, whom she called the ‘glue of the group,’ had passed away online.  

“I discovered an article that claimed a 17 year old girl had been murdered and was released. This was Ellie’s route.  

It was complete chaos. I couldn’t understand anything. 

“We were certain that someone had taken her hostage and murdered her.” She had no enemies or anyone to be concerned about,  that’s what was so hard, we couldn’t make sense of anything.

On May 3, Griffiths went to Ellie's (pictured) house and murdered her in a frenzied attack, left the knife in her hand to make it look like she had killed herself, and then abandoned her in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor while he went back to school

On May 3, Griffiths went to Ellie’s (pictured) house and murdered her in a frenzied attack, left the knife in her hand to make it look like she had killed herself, and then abandoned her in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor while he went back to school

“We thought that we knew him. But, we believed that he couldn’t do something similar to this.” 

Griffiths originally claimed he didn’t see Ellie that day. However, he admitted it three weeks later after being confronted by overwhelming evidence. 

Detective Chief Inspector Jim Taylor stated that the defendant’s accounts began to “fall apart” after police gathered CCTV footage showing him driving toward Ellie’s house and location data from his iPhone. His arrival and departure times were also recorded by the WiFi router in his house. 

Thomas Griffiths was held for at least 12 and a quarter years for his role in the murder Ellie Gould. However, he may be eligible to parole before his thirtyth birthday. 

However, Ellie’s parents Carole Gould and Matt Gould argue that the sentence doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the crime.  

Griffith’s sentence shows that he was treated in law as a child and not as an adult. Ellie’s parents have worked tirelessly since Griffith’s conviction to change that law. 

However last month,  The Domestic Homicide Review into the murder of Ellie noted how the killer tried to disrupt Ellie’s study attempts and subjected her to ‘coercive control’.

According to the review, it was alarming how fast their separation turned into murder.

There were no agency failures or weaknesses identified during the review. However, the report recommended supporting young Wiltshire residents who have concerns about domestic abuse and controlling behavior. 

According to the review, “In this instance, the perpetrator seemed to have been disrupting Ellie’s study during an important period for revision, showed insecurities, and inducing guilt.”

“Ellie” sought to get a break with the perpetrator while they were revising for mock A level exams. However, the perpetrator refused.

“His subsequent disruption of her education should be viewed in the context of educational subversion.”

The report described education sabotage, a form of economic and coercive control that impedes victims’ ability to obtain educational qualifications. It also aides in the perpetrators’ power and control.

According to the report, Ellie could have used the full range of Wilshire domestic abuse services if she felt it was necessary.

There were a few recommendations in the review. These included increasing awareness regarding indicators of abuse in relationships between young people and their families, friends, and agencies.

After Griffiths’ conviction, Ellie Gould’s entire family gave their statement. 

According to the Gould Family, Ellie was a loving and caring young woman who had a fun personality. 

“Ellie was a child with a great love of animals. Every spring, we visited Lackham to see the lambing season. During the summer holiday, we went to many animal farms and held chicks.

“She wore her shoes in holes her first day at primary school. Every playtime she had was spent crawling with friends and being a cat.

“Ellie loved the summer trip to Devon with our aunt and uncle. She loved Elsa, their dog Elsa, and while the others were afraid of Elsa’s lively jumping, Ellie was not. Ellie had a great way with animals. Ellie calmed the puppy, and made it do what she wanted.

“Every year since a child, a pony was on every girl’s Christmas and birthday wish list.

“As her parents, I tried to buy a hobby horse for the kids to ride around in our garden. So we kept trying to get an Exmoor Pony. Unfortunately, because of the distance, it was impossible for us to visit him more often than once a year.

“Finally, as we live in rural Wiltshire and we loved it so much that we bought Missy a pony.

Missy had a flowing, white mane and tail. She looked like a unicorn, but she was more brown when she was brown, because she loved to roll in the dirt.

Ellie used to spend hours combing her hair and plaiting her tail. She enjoyed showing her off at the local shows in the “prettiest ponies classes” and she was thrilled to be first at Foxham in Foxham’s family pony class.

Ellie showed great improvement in her natural riding abilities and was soon ready for Blackjack.

She competed at cross country and winter shows. As she would speed past large cross-country jumps and gallop by, it was thrilling to see.

“She spent her summers often alone with Blackjack, her love and hacking through Wiltshire’s stunning countryside.

“Ellie enjoyed the Sixth Form, where she was studying A Levels.

“She built a strong group of friends, who often met up on weekends for activities like Escape Rooms. The group would meet in our home, and she often asked if it could.

“We discussed visits to universities and apprenticeships in the police force. She wondered if her riding skills could help her get into the Mounted Police.

“She expressed excitement about the next stage of her life but also stated, “But I don’t want the sixth degree to end because I love it so much.”

“Ellie was a great friend to her brother as a child. They rarely had arguments because she was so fun and loving.

“We want Ellie to always be remembered for her kindness and caring nature, as well as having a great personality.”

Riding for the Disabled, Ellie’s favorite charity, runs activities for disabled kids and adults. We ask that donations be made in Ellie’s name to this charity so they can keep up their incredible work.

“This is Ellie would want.”

‘Finally, I’d like the community to Calne, Hardenhuish Schools for their support and comforting messages, as well the police, who have supported us over the past weeks.