Brianna Ghey teen killers named before they're sentenced for horrific murder
Two teenage killers have been named and pictured after the horrific murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey.
Both of the 16-year-old defendants were previously referred to as Girl X and Boy Y during their four-week trial last December at Manchester Crown Court.
They were aged 15 when they carried out the 'disturbing' plan to murder trans teenager Brianna in a 'frenzied and ferocious' attack with a hunting knife.
Brianna was stabbed 28 times in the head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February, 2023.
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Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, can now be named as the killers of teenager Brianna Ghey after Mrs Justice Yip lifted a ban on reporting their identities before they are sentenced for murder at Manchester Crown Court.
The defendants previously denied murder and blamed the other for the killing.
The trial heard the pair had a fascination with violence, torture and murder and a 'thirst for killing'.
Both were said to have come from normal backgrounds and never been in trouble with police before.
When Girl X was 14, she downloaded a TOR internet browser app to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people, in 'red rooms' on the 'dark web'.
The trial heard that she developed an interest in serial killers, making notes on their methods, and admitted enjoying 'dark fantasies' about killing and torture.
Boy Y has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is non-verbal, while Girl X, was diagnosed with traits of autism and ADHD.
A ban on identifying the defendants has been in place since they first appeared in court.
However, following their conviction in December, the judge agreed to lift anonymity when they were handed their sentences.
Mrs Justice Yip, said there was 'a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case'.
She explained: "The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful.
"Continuing restrictions inhibits full and informed debate and restricts the full reporting of the case."
Brianna's mother, Esther Ghey, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain last month: “I don’t know whether justice will ever be done for Brianna. It would be nice to have her back home. That would be justice for me but obviously, that isn’t going to happen.
“Knowing that they are going to prison and they are going to have a long time, if not forever, is a massive relief because during the trial it was a rollercoaster of emotion as you always had that little seed of doubt that maybe the jury would come to the decision that they were not guilty. So hearing that guilty plea - it was just a massive sense of relief.
“The fact that they both pointed the finger at each other shows that they are cowards really and it shows the character of each of them. Maybe if they had admitted or shown a little remorse, I may have felt some sympathy for them.”
The mum has since launched a campaign called Peace in Mind in memory of Brianna, which aims to support children to process and deal with negative emotions in a healthy way.
She said: “Because of my experience with Brianna, I wanted to help other young people so we started the ‘Peace in Mind’ campaign and we are so close to the target now.
“We are hoping to get a mental health coach in every school in Warrington and we are hoping to get this spread out across England as well.
“I am in talks with our local MP and hopefully, we are going to get it in Parliament.”
Anish Vij