Teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe have each been given a life sentence at Manchester Crown Court and ordered to serve a minimum term of 22 and 20 years respectively for the murder of teenager Brianna Ghey.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, carried out the “disturbing” plan to murder Brianna, 16, in a “frenzied and ferocious” knife attack.
The judge said the murder was “brutal” and “sadistic” and that a secondary motive was Brianna’s trans identity.
Both aged 15 at the time of the murder, they were identified for the first time as they were sentenced on Friday, after a senior judge lifted a ban on the press naming them.
Brianna Ghey was stabbed by Jenkins and Ratcliffe, after being lured to Linear Park near Warrington, Cheshire, on February 11 last year.
Manchester Crown Court heard on Friday that Jenkinson had been seen by a psychiatrist after she was convicted of murder last December and made “admissions”.
Teenage girl admits for first time to stabbing Brianna Ghey
Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said: “She said effectively, she said that at the time of the killing she had in fact administered stab wounds herself.
“She had snatched the knife from Eddie’s hand and stabbed Brianna repeatedly.
“She said Eddie had thrown Brianna to the floor and stabbed her three or four times then he panicked and said he did not want to kill her, so she carried on and stabbed her a number of times.
“When asked how many, she answered, ‘A lot.’ She was satisfied and excited by what she was doing.”
Due to their age, the media was banned from reporting their identities during the four-week trial.
During the trial it was revealed that the pair had a fascination for violence, torture and murder as they showed that Jenkinson, while aged 14, downloaded a TOR internet browser app, to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people, in “red rooms” on the “dark web”.
Neither had been in trouble with the police before and are categorised as coming from normal and “high functioning” backgrounds.
Brianna’s parents told the sentencing hearing the pair should never be released from prison, with her mother Esther Ghey saying she felt her daughter’s killers still pose a danger to society.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms Ghey said: “I don’t believe that someone who is so disturbed and obsessed with murder and torture would ever be able to be rehabilitated.
“I have moments where I feel sorry for them because they have also ruined their own lives, but I have to remember that they felt no empathy for Brianna when they left her bleeding to death after their premeditated and vicious attack, which was carried out not because Brianna had done anything wrong, but just because one hated trans people and the other thought it would be fun.”
Brianna’s father Peter Spooner said “no amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters” as he branded his daughter’s killers “pure evil”
‘No amount of prison time will be enough’
Peter Spooner, Brianna’s father, added in his victim statement: “Now my world has been torn apart, justice may have been done with guilty verdicts, but no amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters.”
‘The thought of killers being released horrifies me’
Ms Ghey, the mother of the victim said that she believed both Jenkinson and Ratcliffe continued to pose a danger to society and “should never be released”.
Killers’ background and plan of murder come to light.
Ratcliffe has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is non-verbal, while Jenkinson is diagnosed with traits of autism and ADHD.
The murder was premeditated and discussed for weeks. Detectives found a “kill list” that was drawn up and had the names of four others that the pair intended to kill.
The police also found text messages where Jenkinson told Ratcliffe she wanted to stab Brianna “jus coz its fun lol… I want to see the pure horror on her face and hear her scream”.
Jenkinson joined Brianna’s school, Birchwood High, and quickly became “obsessed” with her, after being expelled by her previous school Culcheth High, over an incident involving cannabis.
Luring Brianna to the park on a Saturday afternoon, at around 3pm the pair attacked the teenager who was sitting on a bench, possibly initially from behind, with Ratcliffe’s hunting knife, a 13cm blade.
She suffered 28 stab wounds, 14 to her head and neck and 14 to her chest, back and sides.
Even though Brianna had thousands of followers on TikTok, in reality she was a shy and anxious teen struggling with depression.
An hour after the murder both teenagers were arrested as they had been seen by witnesses in the park and caught on CCTV and doorbell footage.
The murder weapon with Brianna’s blood was found in Ratcliffe’s bedroom, along with heavily blood-stained clothing and trainers.
Meanwhile a handwritten note with details of the murder plan was found at Jenkinson’s home.
Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, said: “There’s not many murders where you get from planning to execution almost documented, word for word”.
Detectives believe Brianna was killed because she was vulnerable and accessible, with her death not being a hate crime but done for “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing”.