Killing of Emily Jones

On 22 March 2020, which was Mother's Day in the United Kingdom, seven-year-old Emily Grace Jones was riding her scooter at Queen's Park in Bolton, Greater Manchester, when she was stabbed in the neck by a woman sitting on a nearby bench. Emily was taken to Salford Royal Hospital but died from her injuries that afternoon. The attacker, later identified as Eltiona Skana, attempted to flee but was tackled to the ground by a member of the public and restrained until police arrived. Skana had purchased a pack of craft knives from a shop in Bolton town centre earlier that morning.

Emily was born on 18 January 2013 in Bolton to Mark Jones, a credit manager, and Sarah Barnes, a solicitor. The family lived in the Doffcocker area, and Emily was a pupil at Markland Hill Primary School.

Skana, born 24 February 1990 in Albania, had a documented history of mental illness, including psychiatric hospitalizations in 2015 and 2017 following violent incidents involving her neighbours, mother, and sister. She had entered the UK in 2014 after being smuggled through Europe, and was granted residency following an appeal of an initially refused asylum claim; she later admitted to falsely claiming to be a trafficking victim on that application. At the time of the killing, she was unemployed and living in a Bolton flat, and anti-psychotic medication was found there after her arrest.

Skana was charged with murder and possession of a bladed article. She was initially detained under the Mental Health Act at Rampton Secure Hospital. At a November 2020 hearing she denied murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Her trial began 26 November 2020 at Minshull Street Crown Court. Testimony included a psychiatric nurse recounting Skana's admission that the killing was premeditated, and a forensic psychiatrist's assessment that she had paranoid schizophrenia and a history of violence when unmedicated. On 4 December, the prosecution withdrew the murder charge, stating there was no longer a realistic prospect of conviction on that count, and the jury returned a formal not guilty verdict for murder.

On 8 December 2020, Skana was sentenced to life imprisonment with an initial minimum term of eight years, to be served at Rampton Secure Hospital under a "hybrid order" allowing transfer to prison if her condition improves. On 26 January 2021, the presiding judge corrected a sentencing calculation error and increased the minimum term to 10 years and eight months.

Emily's father, Mark Jones, criticized an internal review by the Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Trust that concluded the attack could not have been foreseen, calling it inadequate. NHS England subsequently opened its own investigation into the Trust. Fundraisers established in Emily's memory, including one for a school memorial garden and one benefiting the Bolton Lads' and Girls' Club, raised tens of thousands of pounds.