MANCHESTER, England – Two teenagers in the U.K. are facing life in prison after being found guilty of the “frenzied and ferocious” killing of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey. Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16 years old, were unmasked as the perpetrators and are awaiting their sentencing at Manchester Crown Court.
The brutal murder took place in Linear Park, Culcheth, near Warrington, Cheshire. Brianna was lured to the park and then stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times. The pair, previously known only as girl X and boy Y, had denied the murder and each tried to blame the other for the killing.
During the sentencing hearing, victim impact statements were presented by family members. Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey urged the court to ensure that her daughter’s killers never be released from prison, stating that the thought of them walking free in society “absolutely horrifies me.”
Brianna’s father, Peter Spooner, described the killers as “pure evil” and expressed that no amount of time spent in prison would be enough for them.
The harrowing trial revealed that the pair, whom Brianna considered as friends, had a fascination for violence, torture, and murder. The judge decided to lift the anonymity orders for the convicted pair, citing a strong public interest in the case.
Following the guilty verdicts, it was revealed that Jenkinson had drawn up a second ‘kill list’, with Brianna as the first intended target. The prosecution argued that the murderers were “at least in part motivated by Brianna’s transgender identity.” However, detectives believed Brianna was killed not as a hate crime but because she was vulnerable and accessible, done for the “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing.”
Detectives found the murder weapon with Brianna’s blood on it in Ratcliffe’s bedroom, along with heavily blood-stained clothing and trainers. Additionally, a handwritten note detailing the murder plan and naming Brianna as the victim, as well as phone messages detailing an earlier attempt to poison Brianna with an overdose, were found.
Speaking after the guilty verdicts, Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, labeled the killers “arrogant” and emphasized their belief that they would not be caught.