Inquest reopened into death of 14-year-old boy after ‘TikTok blackout challenge’

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.