Two 15-year-olds who were obsessed with torture and killing, preyed on the anxieties of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey in order to lure her to a park and then murder her, police have said.
The pair, identified only as Girl X and Boy Y, who are now aged 16, spent weeks plotting the attack on Brianna, who was apprehensive and rarely went out alone.
After posing as her friends and arranging to meet her at a local beauty spot, they ambushed her and stabbed her 28 times in an attack of shocking brutality.
Following their arrest, the pair – who cannot be named because of their age – sought to deny responsibility and blame one another for the murder.
But following a three-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, they were both found guilty on Wednesday and face mandatory life terms in prison when they are sentenced in the new year.
Boy Y, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and who is non-verbal, and Girl X, who has traits of autism and ADHD, were both in the dock as the verdicts were delivered.
Detective Inspector Nigel Parr, from Cheshire Constabulary, who led the investigation, said outside court: “This was a senseless murder committed by two teenagers who had an obsession with murder, whose only motivation in killing Brianna was to experience what this would be like.
“Brianna was a teenager whose whole life was ahead of her. She went out on that Saturday thinking she was going to meet a friend. The fact that she suffered with anxiety and was vulnerable was something which both defendants preyed upon.
“Brianna trusted the female defendant. She was betrayed by someone she called her friend.”
Speaking after the trial, Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey said: “To know how scared my usually fearless child must have been when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever.”
She also urged people to show compassion to the parents of the teenagers convicted of murdering her daughter.
Mrs Ghey said: “Please have some empathy and compassion for the families of the young people convicted of this horrific crime. They too have lost a child and they must live the rest of their lives knowing what their child has done.”
She added: “Prior to the trial, I have had moments where I felt sorry for the defendants because they have ruined their own lives as well as ours.
“But now, knowing the true nature of the two and seeing neither display an ounce of remorse for what they have done to Brianna, I have lost any sympathy that I previously had for them, and I am glad that they will spend many years in prison and away from society.”
The trial heard how Brianna, who was born a boy but was living, dressing and referring to herself as female, had thousands of followers on TikTok.
But despite this, she was a withdrawn, shy and anxious teenager who struggled with depression and rarely left her home.
In February she was persuaded by Girl X to meet in Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington, where she was told they would “hang out with friends”.
While on the way there, she had sent a message to her mother saying: “I’m on the bus by myself. I’m scared.”
Her mother replied that she was proud of her, but Brianna never read the message before she was murdered.
Brianna was attacked from behind with a hunting knife with a 13cm blade, brought to the park by Boy Y.
The court heard both defendants, who were from good homes, had a fascination with violence, torture and murder and had planned the killing for weeks.
Jurors heard Girl X enjoyed watching internet torture and killing material from the “dark web” and had an interest in serial killers.
During the trial, jurors were told about a notebook found at Girl X’s house in which she described Boy Y as “very, very smart, genius level” but also a “sociopath”, lacking emotion and socially awkward.
The trial heard that the pair had a “kill list” of at least four other victims before finally settling on Brianna as their target.
Some of Brianna’s classmates have been left traumatised at the prospect they may have also been targeted by the pair.
Pupils at Birchwood High School have been fearful that they too were on the “kill list”, the contents of which have never been revealed.
Police said while there was no firm evidence that Brianna had been targeted because she was trans, in text messages exchanged before the killing, the murderers discussed whether Brianna would “scream like a boy or a girl”.
Boy Y also referred to her as “it” in messages.
Girl X, admitted, while giving evidence, that she thought Brianna was “quite attractive” and confessed she found the idea of killing her exciting.
Speaking outside court, Peter Spooner, Brianna’s father, said: “My heart bleeds every day for Brianna, and this will never go away – and the amount of guilt I have can sometimes be unbearable. But I will ensure her memory lives on in my thoughts and dreams.”
‘Distressing’ case that is ‘beyond belief’
Ursula Doyle, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “This has been one of the most distressing cases I have ever dealt with. The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief.
“Girl X and Boy Y appear to have been a deadly influence on each other and turned their dark fantasies about murder into a reality. The extensive messages between the two, planning and plotting to kill people, talking of murder, torture and cruelty, were difficult to read.
“The messages provided a terrifying insight into the minds of the two defendants – but also revealed the detailed planning of their attack and subsequent attempts to cover it up.”
But the CPS was accused of risking derailing the case months before the trial began by publicly labelling the murder an example of a “transphobic hate crime” in a newsletter.
The online post was spotted by the Welsh branch of the Women‘s Rights Network (WRN), which said: “You’d expect the CPS to have a comprehension of ‘sub judice’ and contempt of court.”
A CPS spokesperson said: “We prosecuted this case diligently and as a result Brianna’s killers will now face justice – there is no evidence at all to suggest that the newsletter had any impact on the trial.”
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2023-12-20 19:24:00Z
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