A 16-year-old girl, who is believed to have taken her own life after facing terror charges, had wanted to “blow up” a Jewish place of worship and was obsessed with Adolf Hitler, an inquest has been told.
Rhianan Rudd was a victim of grooming by a “neo-Nazi” American extremist who had “encouraged her to read some books” about Jewish and black people, Chesterfield Coroner’s Court heard.
Rhianan’s mother Emily Carter said in a statement: “My daughter being groomed was huge and I saw Rhianan change. This had a great impact on her and I did all I thought was right by her.
“She was one of the kindest and most loving children I ever had the honour to know.
“I miss her more than life itself, I miss her smile, her laugh, her conversations – I just miss her.”
Rhianan, from Chesterfield in Derbyshire, had been born into a domestic violence relationship, her mother also said.
The teenager was investigated by authorities after she downloaded a bombmaking manual and scratched a swastika mark on to her forehead, and she became the youngest person to be charged with terror offences in the UK, the court heard.
But her charges were dropped five months before her death when evidence emerged she had been exploited.
Rhianan’s death
She died on 19 May 2022 at a children’s home in Nottinghamshire, the inquest was told.
It heard that at the time of her death, the teenager was a looked-after child in the care of the local authority, had autism and self-harmed because she had “too many emotions” and “did not know how to deal with them”.
Rhianan’s mother wrote in a 7 September 2020 email to the Home Office counter-terrorism programme Prevent that the teenager had a “massive dislike for certain races”, counsel to the inquest Edward Pleeth said.
‘Shrine in bedroom to Hitler’
It was recorded during that month that Rhianan had an “obsession with Hitler”, whom the court heard she had a shrine to in her bedroom, and was a “Holocaust denier”.
The court was told that WhatsApp messages sent by Rhianan were contained in a student incident statement in September 2020, saying she “wants to kill someone in the school or blow up a Jewish place of worship” and that she “does not care who she kills and nothing matters anymore”.
Also that month, it was recorded she said she had stopped speaking to the American extremist in March but then “seemed to contradict herself”, meaning it was possible they were still communicating, the court heard.
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Home searched
Two police officers went to Rhianan’s home address on 9 October 2020 and seized a USB memory stick and a diary from her. PDF files related to bomb making, guerrilla warfare and homemade weapons, were recovered and her diary referenced firearms, the inquest was told.
That month, Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands shared information with MI5 who opened an investigation into Rhianan, and on 20 October 2020 police decided not to arrest her because it was “believed to risk some impact on her mental health” and “could possibly lead to further self harm and suicide attempts”, the court heard.
But after she was admitted to hospital that same day after scratching a swastika on to her face, the court was told that a decision was made on 21 October to arrest her.
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Mr Pleeth told the court that Rhianan’s charges were discontinued on 29 December 2021.
Chief coroner Judge Alexia Durran said the scope of the inquest includes how Rhianan’s risk of self-harm and suicide was acted upon, such as the circumstances leading up to her charges being dropped, and how her care and support was coordinated.
The inquest continues.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
