Tragic Emily's dad: We want something good to come of this

FATHER OF GIRL STABBED BY STRANGER SPEAKS AFTER INQUEST RULING

- THOMAS GEORGE

THE FATHER of tragic schoolgirl Emily Jones said he hopes "something good" will come from his daughter's death.

The seven-year-old was stabbed in the neck by a stranger as she rode her scooter through Queens Park in Bolton in March 2020. Eltiona Skana, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, slit Emily's throat with a craft knife she had bought from a pound shop that day.

Skana was later sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of manslaughter, by means of diminished responsibility.

A coroner ruled yesterday that Emily's killing was unlawful but that mental health services could not have predicted or prevented Skana's actions.

Speaking following the hearing at Bolton Coroner's Court, Emily's father Mark Jones said: "We want something good to come from this, so Emily's death isn't in vain."

Mr Jones described the mental health system as "broken" and added: "No one really understood the threat the perpetrator posed."