For those unaware Brianna Ghey was a 16 year old trans girl from Cheshire, England, who was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight in the middle of Culcheth Linear Park. She was known by friends to be kind and someone who helped other trans youth safely and legally access trans healthcare. The attack on her was described as "extremely brutal and punishing". The police initially stated there was no evidence to suggest her death was a hate crime, and in the wake of her killing the UK media responded by deadnaming her and misgendering her several times and refusing to use the word girl in association with her.
The news shocked the trans community in the UK and her murder became a stark symbol of where the rising transphobia of the country was headed. This was reported on at the time:
A report by NBC News on the killing concluded that "the climate in the U.K. has grown increasingly hostile for trans people over the last few years", noting that the BBC had recently published the article "We're being pressured into sex by some trans women", which was accused of "[painting] all transgender women as sexual predators". American magazine Vogue connected the killing to online transphobia, writing that "there's a near-constant questioning of trans rights that reinforces the idea that trans men and women are trying to fool us, to trick us, that their deeply personal gender identity is an affront to the status quo and how we live."
There were vigils held across the country, one of which I attended and was, as you'd imagine, an emotional time.
She was popular on TikTok and her videos were just like any other girl her age; dancing, making jokes and having fun. She was young, living life as herself, and had every opportunity to live the life many of us transitioning later in life wish we could have but always hope for others. The pain of her loss is still felt here. November 7th would have been her 17th birthday and schools across Warrington organised fundraisers and many students (and people in general) wore pink in remembrance of her. Her murder also provoked calls to change the need to have a
Gender Recognition Certificate in order to be recognised as your gender on your death certificate.
Schools in Warrington donned pink clothing to mark what would have been the 17th birthday of Brianna Ghey, who was killed in February.
www.warringtonguardian.co.uk
View: https://twitter.com/charlotte2153/status/1721937075962785807
When reading all the court reporting it can feel pretty dehumanising, especially when it's the two complicit in her murder who we're hearing the most. Brianna deserves more than to be remembered for her murder or the snapshots of her life surrounding it. By all accounts she was an anxious and kind girl who helped others in the trans community. She cared deeply for her friends and was protective over them. Many over the past few months have shared messages from Brianna that meant a lot to them and many shared videos of her on what was going to be her 17th birthday. I know many here will only have seen her in the few photos they released and in descriptions from the thread, so thought I'd share one:
View: https://www.tiktok.com/@briannagheyy/video/7298757124442688801
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The Trial
cw: Defendants fantasising about murder and torture, descriptions of their attempted and planned murder, and transphobia.
Note:
I genuinely find the description of her injuries from the link below too graphic to post. They are horrific requiring considerable force to inflict.
The suspects involved cannot be named due to their ages (15 at the time of the murder, 16 now).
They fantasised and talked about killing several people, of which Brianna was one.
The trial will not start each day earlier than 10am and will finish no later than 4.30pm.
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You can follow the trial from a variety of sources but here is one from Warrington:
Current day:
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- Notes from each day of the trial will be linked below and threadmarked -
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Sentencing of Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe for the murder of Brianna Ghey – 2nd February 2024
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Day 18 of the trial, 20th December session – The jury finds both defendants GUILTY
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Day 17 of the trial, 19th December session – End of closing arguments
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Day 16 of the trial, 18th December session – Beginning of closing arguments
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Day 15 of the trial, 15th December session
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Day 14 of the trial, 14th December session
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Day 13 of the trial, 13th December session
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Day 12 of the trial, 12th December session
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Day 11 of the trial, 11th December session
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Day 10 of the trial, 8th December session
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Day 9 of the trial, 7th December session
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Day 8 of the trial, 6th December session
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Day 7 of the trial, 5th December session
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Day 6 of the trial, 4th December session
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Day 5 of the trial, 1st December session
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Day 4 of the trial, 30th November session
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Day 3 of the trial, 29th November session
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Day 2 of the trial, 28th November session
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Day 1 of the trial, 27th November session:
Context:
There is no dispute that the male and female seen running away from Brianna's body were these two defendants, X and Y. Nor is there any dispute that in the days and weeks leading up to that day, they had discussed killing her. Indeed, it is accepted that Brianna Ghey was killed with a knife that belonged to Y - a knife which he told X he would be bringing with him that day and which he said was sharp enough to kill her.
But each defendant denies that they are guilty of murder. Each denies that they participated in killing Brianna at all. Each blames the other. The prosecution case is that, whoever it was who delivered the fatal blows, both defendants are equally guilty. Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill Brianna Ghey.
They also discussed less innocent topics. The messages they exchanged show that they were preoccupied, the prosecution say, with violence, torture and death and record them discussing how they wanted to kill people.
If that was not an unusual way for two teenagers to speak to one another, the messages demonstrate how, over time, they encouraged one another to to think about how they would actually carry out a killing, and the messages show how they planned together to kill Brianna in just the way that she was in fact killed.
Transphobia:
X told him that Brianna was "trans" and that she sounded just like a girl and looked really pretty. Y replied that they had different tastes and asked, again referring to Brianna as 'It', "Tell me what you feel when you interact with it". X said she got nervous and stuff but her heart felt normal.
Y responded, "I don't think you're necessarily in love but I think you're more curious and intrigued by its unnatural nature".
As Y was again searching for rope on the internet, X said, "If we can't get E tomorrow we can kill Brianna."
Y agreed, saying "yeah, it'll be easier and I want to see if it will scream like a man or a girl".
Initial attempt to murder her via overdose of Ibuprofen:
By January 18 2023, however, X's fascination with Brianna had turned darker. She sent Y some pictures of a pair of scissors and a tissue with blood on them saying that she was going to eat human flesh. These are shown to the jury.
On January 23 2023, X sent Y a picture of some tablets and asked, "Btw do you die from eating them… I got a plan if you do". Again, they are shown to the jury. Y responded, "It is dangerous yes but I'm not sure how much would be lethal".
X explained, "You know that girl I mentioned, Brianna, I'm still tryna kill her and the easiest way is pill overdose pls ppl already know she is depressed and s**t so nobody would get sus but for some reason she has a high tolerance like I gave her some today that should have been enough to kill her…". But, X went on, although Brianna had messaged to say she had felt bad and thrown up, "…she didn't die".
Until this point in the chronology, although the defendants spoke of wanting to torture or kill, there is no evidence that they had acted upon their words. However, when X told Y that she had given Brianna an overdose of ibuprofen tablets, it seems that she wasn't making it up.
Brianna was indeed on holiday on January 18 as X said, but by January 23 she had returned home. Her mother, Esther Ghey, recalls an occasion during that week when Brianna was sick. She recalls that Brianna was in real pain and thought she was going to die. Her mother was concerned enough to think it might be appendicitis. She recalls that Brianna was sick and that the vomit contained what she thought were grape skins but thinking back may well have been the remnants of the tablets.
Attempts to research a means of killing her through poison/chemicals or by spiking a drink with acid:
Conversation then turned back to Brianna. X said, "Brianna is still ill. Those tablets I gave her might slowly be killing her. She said "I was in so much pain in my stomach fr girl". Y replied, "If it gets worse she'll get taken to hospital but her liver should be done with it in a few days possibly by tomorrow". X said, "She feels a lot better than before tho but still really ill to the point she cant go to school".
Y then suggested that she should 'try mixing them maybe the different chemicals will make it more dangerous'. He sent a X a screenshot of a product she could buy at Tesco. He also suggested using a substance which he described as "very dangerous". He suggested that X could add it to Brianna's drink, saying that she "would have to drink it fast since its acid".
X said, "I want something to pour into a drink that's easy to get odourless and kills her quickly". Y's web history shows that he spent the next hour and a half researching these toxic substances on the internet, eventually telling X, "Unfortunately, I can't find how fast it kills but I think it kills fast".
Planning the murder including having code words for when to strike:
She said that the arrangement was for Brianna to meet them at the library in Culcheth at 1pm. From there they would walk to Linear Park. It seems that X told Brianna that they were going there to get high on cocaine.
She told Y, "Meet me at the wooden posts in Linear at 12 we'll go over plan again and I'll show you where I'm killing her and then we both walk to the library to meet her… And grab onto Brianna slit her throat when she starts to fall stab her in the back then pass me knife. I want to stab her at least once even if she's dead jus coz its fun lol".
When Y asked whether she would not have her own knife, she replied, "I got a chef blade". Y said, "Let's have two words: one for getting the knife ready and another to stab". The following morning X responded, "For get knife ready I'll look at you and cough and to stay [stab] I'll say gay".
The defendants continued to discuss killing Brianna on Monday January 30. X suggested she could kill Brianna by giving her an overdose of cocaine but then said, "…let's just stab her. Its more fun". Y replied, "Ok".
There is proof of their intent:
If there was any doubt that the defendants meant what they said in these messages, we know that in fact they did meet in Culcheth on Saturday, January 28 2023. Having checked the bus timetable, Y arranged for his mum to give him a lift but at 11.25am X sent him a message saying, "I'm f*****g pissed Brianna just last minute said she cant come… she said she might be able to past 5".
Y arrived at Sainsburys, Culcheth at 12.22pm and met X, and by about 1pm they were in Linear Park together where X filmed Y underneath a bridge located about 2 – 3 minutes' walk from the site at which Brianna would eventually be killed. Jurors are shown a series of maps showing the location. They are told that CCTV footage from the area will be shown later in the trial.
They remained together until sometime after 3pm when Y got the bus back to Leigh. As he waited at the bus stop, X sent him a message saying that Brianna had just said she couldn't come out that day at all after all but could meet after school on Tuesday.
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Justice for Brianna.
This must be understood as the hate crime it was.
