Emily Jones killer walked out of mental health waiting room two days before attack, inquest hears

The killer of schoolgirl Emily Jones walked out of a mental health waiting room just two days before the horrifying attack, an inquest has heard.

Eltiona Skana slit the seven-year-old's throat after snatching her from her scooter in Queens Park, Bolton, on Mother's Day. Skana, a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic, was later sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of manslaughter, by means of diminished responsibility.

An inquest is currently being held at Bolton Coroner's Court - more than three years on from Emily's death on March 22, 2020. Giving evidence today, Klestora Skana, Eltiona's sister, told the hearing she had taken her sister 'to see a doctor' just two days before the killing.

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Ms Skana said she took Eltiona to Bentley House, a mental health service in Bolton, after becoming increasingly concerned about her mental health.

She said she had witnessed Eltiona cutting her medication in half and believed she was not taking it properly. After no doctor came to see Eltiona for 45 minutes, Ms Skana said her sister got up and left the waiting room.

Klestora Skana also told the hearing about her sister's troubled past. She said Eltiona's mental health problems had begun prior to her arriving in the UK in 2014.

Ms Skana said that while the family were living in their home country of Albania, Eltiona had been ‘forced’ to marry a man by her father.

Eltiona moved to Kuwait with her husband before returning to Albania about a year later. Once back in her homeland, Ms Skana said her sister became 'depressed and withdrawn'.

After travelling to the UK, Klestora said she and Eltiona lived in London and Liverpool before eventually settling in