An inquest has heard a teenager who killed herself after being charged with terrorism offences had been groomed by a neo-Nazi. Chesterfield Coroner’s Court was told that Rhianan Rudd, who was 16 when she died, developed an “obsession with Hitler” and spoke about wanting to “blow up” a Jewish place of worship after being exploited by an extremist.

Chief coroner Judge Alexia Durran said: “Rhianan, from Chesterfield, died on May 19 2022 at Bluebell House Residential Home in Nottinghamshire, where she was found with a ligature around her neck.” She became the youngest person in the UK to be charged with terror offences, but the charges were dropped five months before her death when evidence emerged that she had been groomed.

The inquest heard that Rhianan, who was a looked-after child in local authority care at the time, had autism and self-harmed because she had “too many emotions” and “did not know how to deal with them”.

Counsel to the inquest Edward Pleeth said that in an email on September 7 2020, her mother Emily Carter contacted Prevent, the Home Office’s counter-terrorism programme, saying her daughter had a “massive dislike for certain races”.

During an assessment later that month, it was recorded that Rhianan had an “obsession with Hitler”, and the court heard she had created a shrine to him in her bedroom and was a “Holocaust denier”.

A student incident statement in September 2020 outlined messages she sent on WhatsApp stating: “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 any more”.

Police considered the messages to be “suggestive of a violent and right-wing ideological mindset”, filed a malicious communications crime report and decided it was “appropriate” to seek further evidence rather than arrest her at that stage.

Superintendent Stephen Riley, head of Counter Terrorism Policing East Midlands (CTPEM), said: “Officers attended her home on October 9 2020 and seized a USB stick and a diary.”

PDF files relating to bomb making, guerrilla warfare and homemade weapons were recovered, and the diary contained references to firearms, the court heard.

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Mr Pleeth said: “In October 2020, CTPEM shared information with MI5, which then opened an investigation into Rhianan.”

On October 20, 2020, police decided not to arrest her, believing it could harm her mental health and “possibly lead to further self harm and suicide attempts”.

However, after she was admitted to hospital the same day having scratched a swastika on to her forehead, a decision was taken on October 21 to arrest her.

The inquest heard that Rhianan had been communicating with an American extremist described in court as a “neo-Nazi”, who had “encouraged her to read some books” about Jewish and black people.

In September 2020 she said she had stopped speaking to him in March, but later appeared to contradict herself, raising the possibility they were still in contact.

The court was told some of her drawings included a figure giving a Nazi salute and another depicting a male holding a knife, appearing “like he is going to stab the other male”.

A pen portrait read on behalf of her mother said Rhianan would become “fixated” on subjects, which was “normal” for someone with autism.

The statement said: “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. People used to tell me how lovely she was. I miss her more than life itself, I miss her smile, her laugh, her conversations – I just miss her.”

Ms Carter said: “Rhianan had been born into a domestic violence relationship but had been ‘unapologetic’ and ‘unique in all she did’.”

Mr Pleeth said the charges against Rhianan were discontinued on December 29 2021.

Judge Durran said: “The inquest will examine how Rhianan’s risk of self-harm and suicide was managed, including the events leading to the charges being dropped and how her care and support were co-ordinated.”

The inquest continues.

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