New inquest into boy's death to review social media

A mother says she is pleased after a hearing named social media giants Meta and Snapchat as "interested persons" in the second inquest into her son's death.

Jools Sweeney, 14, from Cheltenham, died in April 2022 in what his mother, Ellen Roome, believes was an online challenge gone wrong.

Fifteen social companies have now been asked to provide data and evidence, and Roome, who has campaigned for this, hopes they will all be "willing to help and release everything they've got so that I can hopefully get answers".

"It's been a journey", she said outside Gloucestershire Coroners court. "It's four and a half years down the line and I'm back here trying to find out why my child's not alive."

Senior Coroner Katy Skerrett said the new inquest would look at the medical cause of Jools' death, events on the day he died including emergency response, and his social media and online activity leading up to his death.

The original inquest, which lasted 23 minutes, recorded a narrative conclusion but that finding was quashed by the High Court which ordered a new hearing.

Senior judges previously heard that new evidence had come to light concerning the role of social media in Jools' death.

A "number of lines of inquiry" had not been pursued, including that he had been contacted by a fraudulent Instagram account operated by an African crime gang shortly before his death, and that evidence from his phone found a "possible attempt at extortion or 'sextortion'".

A pre-inquest review heard tech companies Meta, which owns Instagram, and Snapchat would be joining TikTok, which is already an interested person in the proceedings and has agreed to release information.

Jools' family, Gloucestershire Police and South Western Ambulance Service Trust are also listed.

It gives them the right to participate in the inquest and be legally represented, although they do not have to attend or give evidence.

"I'm really pleased that the coroner is taking on board more data than they did last time," said Roome, adding she understood there was still a long way to go.

Under Jools Law, which was introduced in April 2026 after years of campaigning by Roome, when a child dies, their data is automatically preserved within five days which means there "shouldn't be another parent in my position", she said.

But, she added: "We haven't achieved the ultimate goal, we've still got children being harmed and dying on social media."

Speaking after Monday's hearing, Roome said she was pleased lawyers representing TikTok had agreed to provide relevant data in an accessible format, and hoped others would follow suit.

The court heard a resumed inquest is likely to take place in Spring 2027 and last up to a week.

Roome thinks that date could be a "little bit ambitious but certainly keeping the pressure on so we're not delayed too much longer".

Follow BBC Gloucestershire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.