The parents of a schoolgirl who was killed in a horrific attack in a park on Mother's Day have demanded answers as an inquest into her death gets under way.
Emily Jones, 7, was stabbed to death as she rode through Queens Park in Bolton on her scooter on March 22, 2020. Eltiona Skana, then 30, slit the little girl's throat with a craft knife she had bought from a pound shop earlier that day.
More than three years on from the Mother's Day killing, an inquest into Emily's death has started at Bolton Coroner's Court. On its opening day today (Tuesday), her parents recalled the horrifying events of the day their daughter was killed.
Mark Jones, Emily's father, said he had taken his daughter to the park so she could ride her scooter and meet her mother, Sarah Barnes, who was out jogging. Upon seeing her mother, Emily - a pupil at Markland Hill Primary School - said: "Daddy, daddy, I want to go to mum."
As Emily rode off on her scooter, the inquest heard that she was grabbed by Skana - a complete stranger who had pounced from a nearby bench. Mr Jones said he heard his daughter crying and initially assumed she had fallen from her scooter.
But as he approached Emily, he noticed she was bleeding from her neck.
Tony Canty, an eyewitness who was walking in the park at the time, chased after Skana and pinned her to the ground. He said she was shouting 'she tried to kill me', which the inquest heard was a 'delusional reference to Emily'.
Emily was taken to hospital, where she later died from her injuries. Skana, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was arrested by police that same day.
She was later 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 later rejected by the Court of Appeal.
Mr Jones told the inquest that Emily was 'full of life' and said she enjoyed swimming and playing tennis. He said he had been left 'devastated' by his daughter's death.
"Emily had her whole life in front of her," Mr Jones added. "She was truly a lovely girl and there could be no reason for anyone to harm her."
Meanwhile, Ms Barnes described Emily's loss as 'indescribable', adding: "I will draw no comfort until I'm able to fully understand what led to my daughter's death."
In a statement, Emily's parents said they had major concerns about the treatment Skana received from Greater Manchester Mental Health Trust (GMMH) before the incident, as well as how the Home Office handled her application for asylum after she arrived in the UK from Albania in 2014.
They added: "If she had not been here, Emily would still be alive. The family would not want any other family to suffer in the same way."
The inquest heard that after arriving in the UK, Skana applied for asylum, claiming that she was a victim of trafficking. She was given leave to stay in the UK until 2024.
Duncan Thorpe, a senior civilian police investigating officer, said Skana had been sectioned twice before, in 2015 and 2017.
On the second occasion, he said Skana had locked her mother in a bedroom before attacking her with an iron. Following both incidents, Skana was treated in hospital before being allowed back into the community.
The inquest heard that Skana was last seen by a psychiatric nurse on March 11 - 11 days before Emily's death. However, the nurse reported that she had 'no concerns' about Skana's mental health.
On the day she stabbed Emily to death, Skana had left her home at 1pm and walked the short distance into Bolton town centre. Mr Thorpe said Skana headed to Crompton Place shopping centre, where she purchased a pack of three craft knives from a shop.
CCTV footage then showed her heading in the direction of Queens Park, where she attacked Emily with one of the knives. The inquest heard that the cause of Emily's death was an 'incised wound to the neck'.
Senior coroner Timothy Brennand said the inquest intended to look at whether Emily's death was “predictable and therefore preventable”.
The inquest, which is expected to last for nine days, continues tomorrow.
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