Father has to delay tribute at inquest for tragic Molly
A CORONER sought to reassure the grieving family of tragic teenager Molly Russell that he had not forgotten them after her inquest was delayed again.
The 14-year-old took her own life in 2017 after viewing tens of thousands of harmful posts on social media including selfharm and suicide content.
The inquest, already postponed from March, was due to begin yesterday – nearly five years after her death.
But the formal start was delayed by legal wrangling.
Lawyers for Molly’s family and social media companies spent hours discussing what the
‘Grieving family not forgotten’
media would be allowed to publish. The tech firms include Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram, and image-sharing website Pinterest.
Molly’s father Ian had prepared a loving pen portrait of his daughter. But he looked disappointed when Coroner Andrew Walker said he would have to wait until today.
The coroner said: ‘At the heart of every inquest lives a grieving family and that is not something I have forgotten.’
The inquest at North London Coroner’s Court will examine if social media firms’ algorithms contributed to her death.