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Two teenagers who brutally murdered Brianna Ghey have been named as they face life in prison for the frenzied killing.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both now aged 16 but 15 at the time, have been unmasked as the callous youths who stabbed 16-year-old Brianna to death and are now due to be sentenced on Friday.
The transgender teenager was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February.
Scarlett Jenkinson
Eddie Ratcliffe
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, previously identified only as girl X and boy Y, had denied murder and each attempted to blame the other for her killing, described as “horrific” by detectives.
A harrowing four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court heard the “warped” pair, whom Brianna believed to be her friends, had a fascination for violence, torture and murder – and had a “thirst for killing”.
At a hearing at the same court on 21 December, trial judge Mrs Justice Yip dealt with an application by the press to publish the defendants’ names, deciding in favour of lifting the anonymity orders that were previously in place due to the pair’s young age.
As the public “seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful”, she ruled: “There is a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case.”
Brianna Ghey was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back
When the guilty verdicts were handed down the previous day, the judge made clear to the convicted pair that they both faced a mandatory life sentence for murder. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, who have been held in secure youth detention, are now due to be sentenced on Friday.
Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, told ITV1’s Good Morning Britain last week that she wanted the minimum terms her daughter’s “cowardly” killers must serve in custody before they can be considered for release to be “as long as possible”.
Intelligent, coming from normal backgrounds, and never having been in trouble with police before, the trial, which began on 27 November last year, heard it was “difficult to fathom” how the two child defendants could carry out such a disturbing crime.
Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, branded her daughter’s killers ‘cowardly’
Jurors were told Jenkinson, who has traits of autism and ADHD, and Ratcliffe, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and who is non-verbal, discussed Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in a handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives.
At age 14, Jenkinson, who described herself as a Satanist, had downloaded a TOR internet browser app to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people in “red rooms” on the “dark web”. She became fascinated with serial killers, making notes on their methods, and admitted enjoying “dark fantasies” about killing and torture.
The pair lived in a secret world of warped interests in murder and cruelty. They drew up a “kill list” of four other youths they intended to harm until Brianna had the “misfortune” to be befriended by Jenkinson, who became “obsessed” with her.
The weapon used to murder Brianna, a hunting knife with a 13cm blade
Brianna had thousands of followers on TikTok, but in reality was a withdrawn, shy and anxious teenager who struggled with depression and rarely left her home.
The court heard Jenkinson told her accomplice she wanted to stab Brianna “jus coz its fun lol… I want to see the pure horror on her face and hear her scream”. She watched her favourite film, Sweeney Todd, for the “9,000th time” and discussed which knife her co-defendant would use, the night before Brianna’s murder.
The pair’s dark fantasies were about to become reality, as Jenkinson subsequently lured Brianna, who believed she was going to hang out with friends, to the park on a Saturday afternoon. She chillingly told Brianna when she caught the bus to meet them to buy not a return but only a single ticket. She also reminded Ratcliffe – whose phone number was saved in her phone under the name “Tesco John Wick”, a character from a film about a violent hitman – to bring his knife.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe discussed Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in a handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives
At around 3pm, Brianna, who had been seen sat on a bench, was suddenly attacked, possibly initially from behind, with a hunting knife with a 13cm blade, brought to the park by Ratcliffe. It is not known which defendant or if both wielded the knife. Brianna was “stabbed and stabbed and stabbed” in a “frenzied and ferocious” attack.
The next day, Jenkinson messaged Brianna saying: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park it’s on news everywhere. And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***** up.” Meanwhile, Ratcliffe was online using the Crown Prosecution Service website, looking up penalties for supplying or withholding information.
Jenkinson then posted a tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, describing her as an “amazing friend” and that what had happened was “so f****** sickening”.
Brianna had thousands of followers on TikTok, but in reality was a withdrawn, shy and anxious teenager who struggled with depression and rarely left her home
After the defendants were traced and arrested, detectives found the murder weapon with Brianna’s blood on the blade in Ratcliffe’s bedroom, along with heavily blood-stained clothing and trainers. At Jenkinson’s home, they found a handwritten note detailing the murder plan and naming Brianna as the victim. Messages on their phones detailed an earlier attempt to poison Brianna with an overdose.
Jenkinson claimed at the trial that even though she enjoyed fantasies about murder she never intended any of it to become reality, while Ratcliffe claimed he just played along and never wanted to harm anyone.
Speaking after the guilty verdicts, Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, branded the killers “arrogant”, believing they would not be caught as Jenkinson claimed the local police were “shite”.
The gruesome murder of a transgender teenager in a public park prompted candlelit vigils worldwide protesting against perceived transphobia. However, detectives believe Brianna was killed not as a hate crime but because she was vulnerable and accessible, done for the “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing”.
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2024-02-02 12:58:02Z
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