'Common sense prevailed': The father of tragic schoolgirl Emily Jones welcomes appeal court decision

Paranoid schizophrenic Eltiona Skana objected to the sentence of life with a minimum of 10 years and eight months behind bars before being considered for parole imposed by Mr Justice Wall.

She had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Skana, aged 31, who is currently detained at Rampton high security hospital, is subject to a "hybrid" order, meaning that if her condition improves she could be transferred to a prison to serve the remainder of her sentence.

But she took an appeal against her sentence to the Court of Appeal in London, with her lawyers argued she should instead have been given a hospital order with restrictions, and said her minimum term was too long. However three senior judges disagreed and the sentence is unaltered.

Skana attended the hearing via videolink from Rampton and proceedings were also observed over a video link by seven-year-old Emily's dad, Mark Jones.

Mark Jones

Speaking after judges' decision, Mr Jones said he was "relieved" by the outcome.

"Common sense has prevailed," he said.

When Skana was originally sentenced she showed no emotion but Mr Jones said, at the appeal, she looked disappointed and scared when the judges reached their decision.

"I took some comfort by her disappointment," said Mr Jones.

"I hope its starting to sink in what a horrendous, heinous thing she did on that day and the realisation of spending the rest of her pathetic life behind bars."

Skana had admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility but was put on trial for murder. The trial collapsed and the prosecution offered no further evidence after hearing from the psychiatrist treating Skana.

Eltiona Skana

Mr Justice Wall ordered that Skana serve her sentence at Rampton Hospital and be subject to restrictions under the Mental Health Act, only to be released if she no longer posed a risk to the public.

He said that despite her mental illness, Skana, formerly of Ernest Street, Bolton,  retained “a significant amount of responsibility”, which merited punishment by him passing not a hospital order but a “hybrid” order, meaning the defendant would go to prison for the remainder of her sentence if her condition improved sufficiently.

Dismissing her appeal, Lady Justice Macur said the Crown Court judge was entitled to reach the conclusions he did as to both the nature of the sentence and the minimum term.

Emily had been taken to Queens Park, Bolton, by her father and was on her scooter when Skana, sat alone on a bench, stood up, grabbed the girl, and slit her throat before running away.

The Albanian national, who first came to the UK in 2014 after claiming asylum, had a long history of mental illness and had not been taking her anti-psychotic medication.

Lady Justice Macur said the case had involved a difficult sentencing exercise for the judge, as well as difficulties for the lawyers involved.

Emily Jones

She added: “Those difficulties, however, pale into insignificance when we consider the trauma and tragedy that befell Emily’s family on March 22 and will no doubt live with them throughout the rest of their lives.

“We express our deepest sympathies for Emily’s loss. Words cannot adequately encompass the grief that her family and friends have been subject to.”