Member's statement: Chloe Mitchell: Trial Date
Member's statement by Ms Sian Mulholland on .
- MLA
- Ms Sian Mulholland
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 16 February 2026
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Chloe Mitchell: Trial Date
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5391014
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I, too, will speak about Chloe. I have just come from the court, where I was with her family. A court date has been set — 9 March — and the relief is absolutely palpable. Setting a trial date is important, and I recognise that today is an incredibly emotional day for the family. I told them that I would speak about Chloe in the Chamber so that her name would be on the record. Chloe was loved and cherished. She adored make-up and clothes. I have seen her bedroom, including the make-up and the wardrobe. Her hair was her pride and joy. She loved her family and especially loved her role as an auntie. She needs to be remembered for who she was, not for how she died. Chloe was the baby of the house and was absolutely adored. That shines through in every statement that the family have made and in every meeting that I have had with them. Let her legacy be that other families get their day in court. I welcome the continued contributions by the Justice Minister and the CBA to allow that to happen. I pay tribute to the family — Jordy and Georgina and Chloe's brother and sisters. Their strength and dignity through what they have faced has been unbelievable. No other family should have to walk the path that they have had to walk, and no other family should have to fight for justice in the way that they did. The family want me to put on record their thanks to all who supported their fight for an exemption to the strike action. I thank my fellow MLAs and the MP for North Antrim, who agreed to send the joint letter and meet the CBA on the family's behalf. That meant an awful lot, and it shows that we are stronger when we work together and realise that politics does not have to be the defining thing that we talk about: humanity can shine through. The family also want to put on record their thanks to Inspector Jock McToal for going above and beyond in what he did to support the family. I thank Jock for the support that he has shown to me in his role as well. Georgina Mitchell told the Justice Minister and me that every day that her daughter's trial was delayed, she felt that she was failing Chloe — that she was failing her daughter. I say this directly to Georgina: every day since Chloe passed, you have done nothing but fight for Chloe, as you will on every day ahead. You should be incredibly proud of yourself, because there is no way that you have failed your daughter. We continue to stand with the Mitchell family as they fight for justice.
465 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.99).
- Subject area: Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.14 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.99 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.01 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism | 0.48 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.36 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.12 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.02 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:53 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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