Molly’s dad: Give us secrets on her phone
THE family of English schoolgirl Molly Russell have found it ‘impossible’ to discover potentially vital information about what she viewed online in the hours before she killed herself.
Her parents – who have accused social media companies of contributing to her death – have been unable to gain access to her Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, which are both encrypted. They have also been hamstrung by efforts to access the 14-year-old’s social media accounts, which do not become accessible to parents even if a child dies.
Molly’s father Ian Russell told the BBC: ‘There is data on her electronic devices that we can’t access because it is locked in there. It seems to me that the data on Molly’s phone should become her parents’ property. She died without a will, she was 14 and everything else quite naturally returns to us as her parents.
‘We need to find out what it was that drove her to make that final decision – that encouraged her to take her life at the end.’
Meanwhile, coroner Andrew Walker is writing to tech giants including Instagram, YouTube and Pinterest, demanding they hand over Molly’s data. He will also ask Apple and WhatsApp to provide information.
Firms including Instagram have said they will assist the inquest into Molly’s death. But it remains unclear whether they will allow access to her accounts.