The grieving father of a schoolgirl killed by a mentally ill woman said the inquest process has felt like 'Groundhog Day'.
Emily Jones, 7, was knifed to death as she rode through Queens Park in Bolton on her scooter on Mother's Day 2020. Eltiona Skana, then 30, slit the little girl's throat with a craft knife she had bought from a pound shop on that fateful day on March 22.
Skana, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was convicted of manslaughter, by means of diminished responsibility, and was sentenced to life in prison. She must serve a minimum term of 10 years and eight months. She was also made subject to a hospital order.
She will be sent to prison once doctors decide she is in an appropriate state, if this never happens she will remain in hospital indefinitely. An appeal to have her sentence reduced was rejected by the Court of Appeal last February.
In December 2021 a coroner ruled an inquest should be held into her death but that it would not be held until the full circumstances of 'how a psychologically disordered individual came to be in the community and how the risk to the community was assessed and managed' were known.
The final hearing, expected to last several days, is currently scheduled to begin in the week commencing May 2 this year, reports the Manchester Evening News.
A pre-inquest review hearing was today held at Bolton Coroner's Court. The hearing was told that there was still some evidence yet to be submitted in the case.
Emily's father Mark Jones said: "I just find the process very frustrating. Deadlines are set and are never adhered to. It's like Groundhog Day coming here all the time."
Mr Jones made the comment after correspondence he sent to the coroner's office airing his frustration was referred to by the coroner.
Mr Jones legal representative, Sefton Kawsnik said: "It was three years and five days ago when these events happened. When Mr Jones was last in court on October 27, five months ago, he heard various deadlines being set including disclosure by the trust of statements by December 21 and that still hasn't happened.
"I think he's concerned that he's representing Emily, whose inquest this is. It's not his, nor mine, nor the trust's. This is an inquest into the death of Emily. And he feels in a sense he's doing everything that he can to assist everything so far.
"Yet he now finds himself four to five weeks away from undertaking an inquest when it's still not fully together. He's concerned that he might be being made to rush into a final hearing through no fault of his own."
Adding: "There are still concerns that the family may be being rushed into preparing for this important event in their journey, beyond the most tragic events imaginable."
Senior Coroner Timothy Brennand said to Mr Jones: "I am sorry you saw fit to communicate in those very clear and upsetting terms." He added that he wanted to address Mr Jones' concerns as he didn't want him to feel there were 'in any way being swept under the carpet'.
He said the coroner's service always tried to work 'collaboratively with families' and to 'manage expectations' however he said Mr Jones had made it clear that in his case he did not feel they were being met.
"All I can do is apologise," Mr Brennand continued. "Your experience is your experience and I am not going to in any way quibble with it."
He pointed out that the inquest, which he said has a 'clear and defined scope', currently encompassed 46 witnesses including a number of different clinicians but that 'we are near to the point where we can say all the available evidence is there given the circumstances'.
"If it transpires through the course of the inquest that information has been suppressed, either inadvertently or inappropriately, there will be repercussions," he said.
He added it was 'important that the family feel there's a sufficiency of investigation but that there's also an adequacy of time' and that he should be informed 'if they feel there's been an absence of either'.
Mr Brennand set deadlines for the disclosure of remaining evidence and legal submissions ahead of the inquest at the short hearing.
