Warning: The following content may be triggering for some readers
Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl, was stabbed 28 times in a “frenzied” attack by two teenagers of the same age who had a fascination with violence and torture in a park near Warrington in February last year.
Her killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe who have been detained since, were recently found guilty of murder and have been given life sentences for their crime.
The trial heard that Jenkinson and Ratcliffe have been friends since they were 11 and while growing up had bonded deeply over their shared interest in horror movies, serial killers, and gore. They had exchanged thousands of messages in the run-up to the murder, discussing various children they wanted to kill and how they would do it.
On the day of the murder, they lured Brianna Ghey to a secluded area of the park, where they stabbed her repeatedly with a hunting knife. They then left her to die and fled the scene when they noticed a couple walking their dogs.
The police were alerted but it was already too late. She was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination revealed that she had suffered 28 stab wounds, some of which were defensive, and that she had died from blood loss.
After the police traced Jenkinson and Ratcliffe through Brianna’s phone, they were arrested and questioned.
They initially denied any involvement, but later admitted to killing Brianna Ghey. They claimed that they had acted on impulse and that they had no specific reason for targeting her.
However, the prosecution argued that the murder was premeditated and motivated by Jenkinson’s “deep desire to kill” and Ratcliffe’s “hostility towards the deceased’s identity as a transgender”. They presented evidence from the WhatsApp messages, the graphic images and videos, and the testimony of forensic experts and psychologists.
The jury found them both guilty of murder after deliberating for less than three hours. They were sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 22 years for Jenkinson and 20 years for Ratcliffe.
Watch how the sentences were passed below:
