'I want to understand why my 14-year-old child isn't alive' mum tells LBC as son’s inquest re-opened in landmark case

Ellen Roome doesn't know why her son Jools Sweeney died, and has been fighting for answers ever since. Warning: Upsetting content. Ellen Roome found her son Jools Sweeney unconscious in his bedroom in April 2022. That spring day, he had spent time with his friend and helped a handyman carry a wardrobe into their house. Jools had no history of mental health problems. Yet, Ellen claims Gloucester Constabulary jumped to the conclusion that Jools had taken his own life.

“It was just written off”, Ms Roome says. “You know, child died, let's move on. But it's my child”. The first inquest into the 14-year-old’s death lasted just 23 minutes and returned a narrative conclusion, meaning nothing was found as to the circumstances leading up to Jools’ death. Read more: Mother of Jools Sweeney hopes new inquest into son’s death is a ‘turning point’ Read more: Ellen Roome reveals son Jools Sweeney was sent link 'from an organised crime gang' on Instagram shortly before his death Since then, Jools’ family has campaigned for justice and for understanding.

They believe social media played a role in his death - but they don't know how or to what extent. His mum has previously raised the possibility he could have died while taking part in an online craze called “the blackout challenge” as one avenue that could have been explored. Following a landmark High Court legal challenge earlier this year, a fresh inquest was granted into his death to allow previously omitted social media evidence to be examined.

It came to light that some online activity was not analysed because data had not been gathered from his phone. However, since the original inquest, new powers have come into effect enabling coroners to request that Ofcom, the regulator of social media platforms in the UK, collect data that may be relevant to investigating a child’s death. The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in England and Wales in which one of the key grounds in overturning the previous inquest was the total absence of any social media evidence.

Today marks the start of the fresh proceedings, with a pre-inquest review at Gloucestershire Coroner’s Court. Jools' family hope this will finally bring 'the answers he deserves'. LBC has been told this will “set parameters as to what the Coroner will consider and request in this new inquest” – meaning the amount of data which social media companies will be asked to provide. Ellen Roome says she wants everything on the table: “I want information from all the social media companies.

It's not just TikTok. I want Meta's data. I want Snapchat data. And then there's gaming platforms as well— Discord, Twitch. “Jools was a regular gamer, and I don't know who was interacting with him, what was said, or whether he clicked on any links that could have caused him to do something reckless.” Since her son’s death, Ellen has campaigned to ensure the automatic preservation of a child’s online and social media data within five days of their death – which she’s called “Jools’ Law”.

She has also pursued legal action against TikTok in the US, in a case by the Social Media Victims Law Centre against the firm and its parent company ByteDance. As well as Jools, the case involves the deaths of Isaac Kenevan, 13, Archie Battersbee, 12, Noah Gibson, 11, and Maia Walsh, 13. The Social Media Victims Law Center complaint states that TikTok’s algorithm deliberately amplified and pushed dangerous challenge content to minors to maximize user engagement and advertising revenue.

The families also demand access to their deceased children's online data and account activity, which TikTok has withheld without specific court orders. A spokesperson for TikTok said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with these families. We strictly prohibit content that promotes or encourages dangerous behaviour. "Using robust detection systems and dedicated enforcement teams to proactively identify and remove this content, we remove 99% that's found to break these rules before it is reported to us.

"As a company, we comply with the UK's strict data protection laws." A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Constabulary said: “A complaint was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct earlier this year relating to the 2022 investigation into the death of Julian Sweeney, and this is now with our Professional Standards Department. It would be inappropriate to comment on the actions of any officers involved in this investigation while this complaint is being dealt with.”