Mum welcomes fresh review of son's online devices

The family of a boy who took his own life have welcomed a decision by police to review an independent investigation into the case.

Ellen Roome, from Cheltenham, believes her son Jools, 14, died after an online challenge went wrong and his social media accounts could provide the evidence needed but she has been unable to access them.

She commissioned a private digital forensics company to look into his devices and has given the report to Gloucestershire Police, which has said it will consider its contents.

A force spokesperson said: "Should any new lines of enquiry be identified as a result of this review, we have made a commitment to Julian's parents that these will be fully investigated."

Jools was found unconscious in his bedroom in April 2022 and an inquest found he took his own life. But a coroner said it was unlikely he intended to end his life and the exact events leading up to his death were unclear.

Ms Roome met Gloucestershire Police to discuss the new report and said she is "praying" officers can revisit the initial forensic download of his phone.

She said the news was "huge" after spending the last three-and-a-half years campaigning for social media firms to hand over children's digital data to their families if they die.

Some social media companies have told Ms Roome that they cannot release the data because of privacy issues.

"I met two ex-scene investigating officers... and they produced this report and said we've got other areas we can look at," she said.

Ms Roome said police were unable to carry out an initial forensic download of Jools' phone due to technical issues and a detective manually looked through it.

"If you've got a detective looking at it, it does not look at the metadata," she added.

In January, MPs gathered in Westminster to discuss 'Jools' Law', following a government petition launched by Ms Roome to make sure children's social media data is automatically preserved the moment a death is reported.

Ms Roome will attend the House of Lords on 8 December, as Baroness Beeban Kidron has tabled an amendment to change the Crime and Policing Bill, so a child's online data is automatically preserved within five days of their death.

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police said of the meeting with Jools' parents: "We agreed during this meeting to carry out a full review of the report and assess its contents alongside our previous investigation.

"Neither our previous investigation, or the inquest that followed, were able to explain the circumstances of Julian's death and we are open to pursuing any avenues which may provide his family with the answers they deserve."

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