The judge identified the teenage murderers of Brianna Ghey as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.

The two individuals responsible for the violent murder of Brianna Ghey have been identified and are now facing a life sentence for their actions.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were 15 years old at the time but are now 16, have been identified as the heartless teenagers responsible for fatally stabbing 16-year-old Brianna. They are scheduled to receive their sentencing at Manchester Crown Court on Friday.

On the afternoon of February 11th, a transgender teen was enticed to Linear Park, located in the village of Culcheth near Warrington, Cheshire, where they were violently attacked with a hunting knife a total of 28 times.

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, previously referred to as girl X and boy Y, both denied committing murder and each tried to shift the blame onto the other for the “horrific” killing, according to detectives.

During the sentencing of the underage defendants, who were previously held in a secure juvenile detention facility, family members read victim impact statements on Friday.

Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey called for her daughter’s killers to never be released from prison as she told the court the idea of the “disturbed” and “sadistic” pair walking free in society “absolutely horrifies me”.

She expressed her belief that Scarlett and Eddie pose a threat to society and should not be given the chance to fulfill their sadistic fantasies on another vulnerable individual. The idea of them being released from prison is terrifying to her, as she does not believe someone so disturbed and fixated on violence and cruelty should ever be free.

Ms Ghey expressed that the passing of her child left her feeling as if a part of her had been taken away and her heart had been torn out. She also shared that in the days following Brianna’s murder, she experienced an overwhelming sense of grief.

During a distressing four-week court case at Manchester Crown Court, it was revealed that the two individuals, whom Brianna considered to be her friends, had a disturbing obsession with violence, torture, and murder, and a desire to take lives.

During a court hearing on December 21st, the presiding judge, Mrs. Justice Yip, addressed a request from the press to release the names of the defendants. She ultimately granted the request and lifted the anonymity orders that were previously in effect due to the young age of the defendants.

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.”

After the guilty verdicts were given the day before, the judge explicitly stated to the two convicted individuals that they would receive a mandatory life sentence for the murder charge. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, who have been detained in a secure youth facility, are scheduled to be sentenced on Friday.

The trial, which started on November 27 of last year, was presented with evidence that the two young defendants, who were of average backgrounds and had no prior involvement with law enforcement, were capable of committing such a heinous act. It was deemed hard to understand how they could have done so.

The jury was informed that Jenkinson, who displays characteristics of autism and ADHD, and Ratcliffe, who has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is unable to communicate verbally, had been discussing Brianna’s murder for several weeks. These discussions were documented in a handwritten murder plan and in phone messages that were discovered by detectives.

When she was 14 years old, Jenkinson identified as a Satanist and utilized a TOR internet browser application to view videos of actual individuals being tortured and killed in “red rooms” on the “dark web”. She became fixated on serial killers and took notes on their techniques, while also admitting to having disturbing fantasies about inflicting harm and suffering.

The duo resided in a concealed realm of distorted desires for violence and brutality. They created a list of four individuals they planned to harm, until Brianna happened to become friends with Jenkinson, who became fixated on her.

Despite having a large following on TikTok, Brianna was actually a reserved and anxious teenager who battled with depression and rarely ventured outside of her home.

During the court hearing, it was revealed that Jenkinson had expressed her desire to stab Brianna purely for fun. She even mentioned wanting to see the fear on her face and hear her screams. Jenkinson also mentioned rewatching her favorite movie, Sweeney Todd, for the 9,000th time and discussing which knife her accomplice would use the night before the murder of Brianna.

The couple’s sinister desires were soon going to be fulfilled, as Jenkinson convinced Brianna to meet them at the park on a Saturday afternoon under the pretense of hanging out with friends. Deceptively, she instructed Brianna to only purchase a one-way bus ticket instead of a round-trip. She also reminded Ratcliffe, whose contact was saved in her phone as “Tesco John Wick” (a character from a movie about a ruthless assassin), to bring along his knife.

Around 3pm, Brianna, who had been sitting on a bench, was suddenly assaulted. It is believed that she was attacked from behind with a hunting knife with a 13cm blade, which was brought to the park by Ratcliffe. It is unclear whether one or both defendants used the knife in the attack. Brianna was repeatedly stabbed in a “frenzied and ferocious” manner.

The following day, Jenkinson contacted Brianna and asked, “Hey, is everything alright? I heard about a teenage girl being killed in Linear Park. It’s all over the news. And why did you leave us for some guy from Manchester? That’s messed up.” At the same time, Ratcliffe was browsing the Crown Prosecution Service website, researching the consequences for giving or withholding information.

Jenkinson later shared a message on Snapchat honoring Brianna as an incredible friend and expressing disgust at the situation.

Following the apprehension of the accused individuals, investigators discovered the weapon used in the murder, which had traces of Brianna’s blood on the blade, in Ratcliffe’s bedroom. They also came across heavily stained clothing and trainers at the same location. At Jenkinson’s residence, a handwritten note outlining the plan to commit murder and identifying Brianna as the intended victim was found. Text messages on their phones revealed a previous attempt to harm Brianna through an overdose.

During the trial, Jenkinson stated that while she did have fantasies about murder, she never intended for them to become real. On the other hand, Ratcliffe claimed that he just went along with it and had no intention of causing harm to anyone.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, who is in charge of crime at Cheshire Police, spoke after the verdicts were announced and referred to the convicted individuals as “arrogant”. This was due to their belief that they would not be apprehended, as one of them, Jenkinson, had stated that the local police were incompetent.

The brutal killing of a teenage transgender individual in a park sparked candlelit gatherings around the world to protest what was seen as transphobic violence. However, investigators believe that Brianna’s murder was not motivated by hate, but rather because she was seen as an easy target, carried out for the thrill and desire to kill.

There is more information available about this developing news story…

Source: independent.co.uk