An autistic schoolgirl believed to have taken her own life plotted to blow up a synagogue and became ‘fixated’ on Hitler after being groomed by a far-right extremist over the internet, an inquest heard today.
Rhianan Rudd, 16, had downloaded guides on how to make a pipe bomb, homemade weapons and guerilla warfare and scratched a swastika into her forehead after being ‘radicalised’ by a white supremacist based in the USA.
The vulnerable teenager was the youngest person ever to be charged with terror offences in the UK.
She was found dead at a children’s home in May 2022, five months after the Home Office ruled she was the victim of grooming and terrorism charges against her were dropped. It is believed she took her own life.
A court heard today how Rhianan created a shine to Adolf Hitler. The teenager’s mother, Emily Carter, believes her daughter should have been treated as a ‘victim rather than a terrorist’.
The inquest into Rhianan’s death will look at the involvement of agencies leading up to her death, including MI5, social services and counter-terror police.
A pre-inquest review hearing was told last year that MI5 was monitoring Rhianan and gave intelligence to police, but that it had no further involvement in Rhianan’s arrest and charge.
Rhianan Rudd, 16, had downloaded guides on how to make a pipe bomb, homemade weapons and guerilla warfare and scratched a swastika into her forehead after being ‘radicalised’
A court heard today how Rhianan created a shine to Adolf Hitler. The teenager’s mother, Emily Carter, believes her daughter should have been treated as a ‘victim rather than a terrorist’
The inquest into Rhianan’s death will look at the involvement of agencies leading up to her death, including MI5 , social services and counter-terror police
Today the inquest, being presided over by the Chief Coroner for England and Wales, was told that Ms Carter had pleaded with police for help with Rhianan in September 2020, warning them that her daughter had developed an ‘unhealthy outlook on fascism’ and harboured a ‘massive dislike for certain races and creeds.’
In an email to officers she wrote: ‘I have done my best to turn her from any such ideologies. It seems to be falling on deaf ears. I would like some help in this matter.’
When Rhianan was visited by local police at her school, she confirmed her interest in the extreme right and told police she had met an American ‘neo-Nazi’ over the online gaming platform, Discord.
Classmates told school leaders that Rhianan had revealed her intention to ‘kill someone in school or blow up a Jewish place of worship’, counsel to the inquest Edward Pleeth said.
‘She said she doesn’t care who she kills and nothing matters any more,’ a school log shown at the hearing stated.
Drawings found in her school bag included sketches of a man giving a Nazi salute.
A Home Office report referring Rhianan, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, to the Prevent deradicalisation programme the same month logged her as having an ‘obsession with Hitler’ and being ‘a holocaust denier’.
The document continued: ‘She had also spoken about slitting people’s throats. She had told her mum she wants to go into a synagogue and blow it up.
Rhianan Rudd was groomed and exploited online from the age of 14 by an American extremist as she found herself lured in to white supremacist views
Rhianan was groomed and exploited online by American extremist Christopher Cook (left). It was also claimed that she was influenced by her mother’s then-partner Dax Mallaburn, an American white supremacist, although her mother said this information was kept from her
‘She has previously downloaded a PDF on how to make a pipe bomb. This was immediately deleted by her mother’s partner.’
The following month, in October 2020, police found files on a USB drive relating to bomb making and a detailed video of a home-made bomb being manufactured using household materials.
On her devices, handed over voluntarily by Rhianan, were derogatory posts targeting non-whites, the Jewish community, transgender and gay people. Rhianan’s diary also revealed references to bombs and firearms.
Officers at an inter-agency meeting on October 20, 2020 opted against arresting her, concluding she posed no immediate threat to national security.
However, a day later, she was detained after being admitted to hospital, having carved a swastika into herself and creating a shrine to Hitler.
During police interviews, Rhianan described being groomed by the American – describing the encounters as ‘disturbing’ – the inquest was told.
Despite being assessed as a ‘medium risk of radicalisation’ by experts, Rhianan was charged by the CPS with six counts of terrorism in April 2021.
Under modern slavery laws, public bodies including the police are required to notify the Home Office about any potential victims of exploitation.
Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard that no such referral was considered until after Rhianan had already been charged and appeared in court.
Bailed as a terror suspect, she was removed from school and placed in a children’s home.
Rhianan was found dead by staff at Bluebell House children’s home in Nottinghamshire on May 19, 2022.
At the opening of the four-week inquest, Ms Carter gave a heartbreaking pen portrait of her daughter, whom last year said ‘should have been treated as a child that had been groomed’.
She said in the statement to the inquest: ‘I felt blessed having her as my daughter and I wanted her to flourish in life.
‘Her being groomed was huge and I saw Rhianan change. This had a great impact on her and I did all I felt was right by her.
‘Rhianan in total was one of the kindest, most loving children I had ever had the honour to know.’
Her mother (pictured) told the BBC that her daughter should not have been charged
She added that due to her autism, Rhianan would often ‘fixate’ on certain topics and go ‘quiet and inward’ when she was struggling.
She added: ‘Rhianan – from the moment she entered this world – brought so much joy. She was a little giggler and as she grew this didn’t end.
‘She was generous and had a kind heart and was also different.
‘There were many times she saw someone worse off than herself and would always want to do something to make that person smile.’
The inquest will hear evidence from agencies including MI5, the Crown Prosecution Service, the police, social services, NHS Trusts responsible for mental health input and the care home where Rhianan was living.
Some material relating to MI5’s involvement with Rhianan before she took her own life is being withheld on security grounds.
The inquest was told of allegations that Rhianan had been sexually abused in the past, and self-harmed because she had ‘too many emotions’ and ‘did not know how to deal with them’.
Her Honour Judge Alexia Durran, Chief Coroner of England and Wales, said: ‘I remain open minded as to any conclusion until I have heard all the evidence.’
The inquest continues.
