The killer of schoolgirl Emily Jones walked out of a mental health waiting room just two days before the horrifying attack, an inquest has heard.
Eltiona Skana slit the seven-year-old's throat after snatching her from her scooter in Queens Park, Bolton, on Mother's Day. Skana, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was later sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of manslaughter, by means of diminished responsibility.
An inquest is currently being held at Bolton Coroner's Court - more than three years on from Emily's death on March 22, 2020. Giving evidence today, Klestora Skana, Eltiona's sister, told the hearing she had taken her sister 'to see a doctor' just two days before the killing.
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Ms Skana said she took Eltiona to Bentley House, a mental health service in Bolton, after becoming increasingly concerned about her mental health.
She said she had witnessed Eltiona cutting her medication in half and believed she was not taking it properly. After no doctor came to see Eltiona for 45 minutes, Ms Skana said her sister got up and left the waiting room.
Klestora Skana also told the hearing about her sister's troubled past. She said Eltiona's mental health problems had begun prior to her arriving in the UK in 2014.
Ms Skana said that while the family were living in their home country of Albania, Eltiona had been ‘forced’ to marry a man by her father.
Eltiona moved to Kuwait with her husband before returning to Albania about a year later. Once back in her homeland, Ms Skana said her sister became 'depressed and withdrawn'.
After travelling to the UK, Klestora said she and Eltiona lived in London and Liverpool before eventually settling in Bolton. But upon arriving in the UK, she said Eltiona's mental health deteriorated.
On one occasion, Ms Skana said she found her sister holding a knife in the street during the middle of the night. She said Ms Skana was screaming and claimed she could hear voices at the time.
Police detained Skana under the Mental Health Act following the incident. In 2017, Skana was sectioned again after locking her mother in a bedroom and attacking her with an iron.
Recalling the incident, Klestora Skana said: “She was very calm then when my mum went upstairs. She followed her very quietly, went into the bedroom and closed the door. I just heard my mum shout. I had to break the door.”
Ms Skana said she had previously raised concerns about her sister 'rarely' taking her anti-psychotic medication and did not agree with a psychiatrist's decision to change her medication from injection to tablet form in August 2019.
Ahead of the coronvirus lockdown March 2020, Ms Skana went to live with Eltiona and said she noticed her sister was becoming increasingly unwell.
“I knew she was not well,” she said. “I was completely sure she did not take her medication properly.”
Ms Skana said she noticed her sister was not sleeping at night and would shower and straighten her hair at 3am. In an attempt to have Eltiona put back on injection medication, she said she took her sister to see Bentley House. However, when no doctor arrived within 45 minutes, Ms Skana said her sister got up and left.
On the day of the killing, Ms Skana said her sister woke up at 11am and showered and listened to music before leaving the house. Ms Skana said Eltiona appeared ‘normal’ at the time and claimed she was going to purchase some cigarettes.
“I did not have any idea what she was going to do,” she told the hearing.
The inquest, which is expected to last for nine days, continues tomorrow.
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