Families of murdered Wiltshire women push for change

In 2019, 17-year-old Ellie Gould was stabbed to death by ex-boyfriend Thomas Griffiths at her home in Calne.

Griffiths was sentenced to a minimum of 12 and a half years in prison, and since then Ellie’s mum Carole has been fighting for tougher sentences for violence against women and girls.

She co-founded Killed Women with Julie Devey, the mother of Poppy Devey Waterhouse who was also killed by an ex-boyfriend.

The group has demanded that the new Labour Government honours a Conservative pledge to alter domestic homicide laws.

They have launched ‘black and blue plaques’ with the names of murdered women and their killers’ sentences, in a bid to drive change.

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The plaque for Ellie Gould (Image: Killed Women) Emma King, who founded Swindon Sisters Alliance after her sister Julie Butcher was murdered in 2005, is also part of the campaign.

Julie was killed by estranged husband Richard Butcher who was handed a minimum sentence of less than 14 years before being allowed out on licence in October 2020.

On average, perpetrators who kill in the home, using a weapon kept in the home, receive a minimum prison term of around ten years less than those who kill outside the home.

Following a consultation, the previous Government confirmed sentences for domestic homicide would rise to 25 years.

Julie Devey believes the current laws are outdated and “insulting” to the families of victims.

She said: “Sentencing for women murdered in the home by a domestic weapon is unfair.

“Sadly, women being murdered by men in the home is not going to end. 

“Even though many murders are preventable - as the killers usually have a prior history of abuse - the final indignity is delivered in sentencing when the murderers receive an average of ten years less than for murders outside.

“This must stop. The minimum term must represent the crime and shouldn’t be determined by the location.”

The plaque for Julie Butcher (Image: Killed Women) Killed Women called for Keir Starmer to include the issue on the Government’s agenda as it returns from summer recess.

Ms Devey added: “We want the symbolism of these plaques to raise this issue in the House of Commons. 

“The Government showed a refreshing approach to the riots this summer and we want this issue to be granted the same attention.

“While this won’t bring our loved ones home, at the very least, families of future victims will be consoled by the knowledge that justice has been served.”