Inquest reopened into death of 14-year-old boy after mother’s TikTok ‘addiction’ concern

Landmark high court ruling calls for fresh inquiry into Jools Sweeney’s death to allow for previously omitted social media evidence The inquest into the death of a 14-year-old boy, whose mother believes he died after a TikTok challenge gone wrong, is to be reopened in a landmark ruling by the high court. Jools Sweeney, a schoolboy from Gloucestershire, died in April 2022. His parents, Ellen Roome and Matt Sweeney, believed social media played a role in his death, pointing to the popularity of the “blackout challenge” online at the time. In their ruling, Lord Justice Warby and Mrs Justice Heather Williams ordered a fresh inquest into the schoolboy’s death to allow for the examination of previously omitted social media evidence. Warby said it was “now clear there are various potential lines of inquiry” that had not been considered in the original inquest. “For more than four years, we have fought every single day for the truth about what happened to our beautiful son Jools,” said Roome, who wept in court as the judges read out their ruling. “Today, the legal system has finally recognised that there are questions which deserve to be answered.” The ruling is believe