The family of Brianna Ghey, the murdered teenager, have been donated over £100,000 on GoFundMe to help with funeral costs.
Two teenagers both aged 15 were charged on Wednesday with the murder of Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl who was found in a park in Warrington on Saturday afternoon. She was stabbed to death.
The family of Brianna issued a statement through Cheshire Constabulary in which they described their current feelings: ”Brianna was a much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister. She was a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her. Brianna was beautiful, witty, and hilarious. Brianna was strong, fearless, and one of a kind”.
Her family is said to be ”overwhelmed by the messages of support, positivity, and compassion across the country and beyond”.
In support of the teenager, donations on GoFundMe that will be used to organise Brianna’s funeral have passed £100,000. The page raised £70,000 in just a day after it was set up. The family said the funeral will be “pink and colourful to match her personality.”
Cheshire Constabulary initially said there were no hate crime-related circumstances to her death. However, currently, the police force stated that they are investigating all of the possible angles to this case ”including whether this was a hate crime”. At the same time, Police urged the public to “avoid speculation online and be wary of sharing misinformation relating to this case”.
On Wednesday evening candlelit vigils gathered hundreds of people in cities including Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, and Bristol. There’s one upcoming vigil in Soho Square in London that will be held this Saturday. Some of the events were organised by LGBTQ+ campaigners, including the one in London.
This Thursday, members of the LGBTQ+ community took to the streets throughout the nation to honour Brianna Ghey with a vigil pic.twitter.com/LAQlHwtGR4
— CityNewsLondon (@CityLDNewsday) February 17, 2023
Tributes to her life also appear on social media, TikTok in particular as Brianna gathered a strong following on this platform.
The weapon used in this heinous crime still wasn’t found at this point. The motive for the attack is also being established.
Warrington Wolves a rugby team from the area close to the crime scene have also paid a moving tribute during the Thursday Super League opener. Players wore black armbands during a televised broadcast and Danny Walker wore a separate warm-up shirt bearing Brianna’s name.
LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall tweeted: “Our thoughts are with Brianna Ghey, a young trans woman, and her loved ones. We urge anyone who may have information which will help the police with their enquiries to come forward.”
This is a developing story, we will bring you more details as they come. Please refresh the page to receive the latest updates.