Brianna Ghey latest: Mother says she ‘knew something like this was going to happen’ after daughter’s death

Eddie Ratcliffe’s mother has told of the moment her son was arrested for Brianna Ghey’s murder at their family home.

Speaking of Sunday 12 February 2023, the day after Ratcliffe and Scarlett Jenkinson stabbed the teenager to death, Alice Hemmings said she was not aware of her son leaving the house in the morning while she was out.

In a statement read to Cheshire Coroner’s Court on her behalf, Ms Hemmings said she had heard about the fatal attack and asked her three children if they knew Brianna. “All said no,” she told the court.

“During the evening, Eddie was chatting and appearing normal,” she said.

“We were cooking when police officers stormed into our house and arrested Eddie, who was upstairs, and took him out of the house in his t-shirt and shorts.”

She added that she was aware her son had a crossbow and a knife that he had got on holiday in Bulgaria.

Eddie Ratcliffe’s mother has detailed the day her experience with her son on the day he brutally murdered Brianna Ghey.

Alice Hemmings said she drove Ratcliffe to Culcheth at around 12.30pm on 11 February 2023.

In a statement read to court on her behalf, Ms Hemmings said: “During the journey to Culcheth, he didn’t elaborate on his plans, and I actually joked with him about his one word answers. He didn’t appear any different.”

When she spoke with her son on the phone at around 5pm, shortly after he and Scarlett Jenkinson had stabbed Brianna to death, she said: “He sounded happy and said he wanted to stay out a bit longer. I could hear a lot of background noise, but he didn’t tell me anything more at that point.”

Ms Hemmings said she arrived home at around 8.50pm and that Ratcliffe came down to greet her immediately. “I asked him if he’d had a good time and he said ‘yes’,” she told the court, adding that he told her he had been playing the game Pokemon and bought a Tesco meal deal. “He appeared to be his normal self,” she said.

Ratcliffe went to bed at around 10pm that night, the court heard.

“Academic” Eddie Ratcliffe was invited to attend an event at a Cambridge college based on his predicted grades, an inquest into the death of Brianna Ghey, whom he murdered, has heard.

In a statement read to the court on her behalf, Ratcliffe’s mother Alice Hemmings said her son was especially talented in science, with an ambition to study microbiology.

She added that he was an avid reader and played many games on his phone.

She also described him as being “well-behaved in school” and requiring few interventions.

The mother of one of Brianna Ghey’s young killers has described him as “very caring” and “a good child with good morals” as her words on the murder were heard publicly for the first time.

In a statement read to Brianna Ghey’s inquest on her behalf, Alice Hemmings, the mother of Eddie Ratcliffe, described her son as sensitive, private and a “very caring person”, and said: “Eddie is a good child with good morals, with a loving caring family behind him.”

She described the young killer as someone who “clearly knows right from wrong, isn’t a risk taker – he is cautious”.

The court also heard Ratcliffe showed autistic traits, although had never been tested or diagnosed, with his mother described him as highly intelligent, able to retain a lot of detail, and in need of routine, with a like for “things in certain places”.

Describing him as “quite socially awkward”, Ms Hemmings said Ratcliffe tended to respond with one-word answers and found it difficult to show emotions.

However, when discussing a topic of interest, she said he was “polite and articulate”.

Otherwise, he would often speak in “more of a mumble or whistle than words”, said Ms Hemmings, adding that she often had to ask her son to repeat himself.

Brianna Ghey’s friend has revealed the reason she believes the teenager met with Scarlett Jenkinson on the day of the murder.

Giving evidence to Cheshire Coroner’s Court, Daisy Birkin, 17, who said the pair met when they were in Year 7, detailed Snapchat messages she exchanged with Brianna on the day she was killed by Jenkinson.

Ms Birkin said Brianna had told her “they were going to go and do drugs”, adding that this was not the first time the two had met up to take drugs together.

Ms Birkin said Brianna told her they were also going to meet with Jenkinson’s drug dealer, which Ms Birkin said she assumed was Eddie Ratcliffe, Brianna’s second killer.

Ms Birkin added that Brianna told her she “going to meet up with my man” afterwards.

“I was aware that Brianna was speaking with older men online and on occasions meeting up with older men,” she told the court.

Brianna Ghey’s father has told the inquest into his daughter’s death that he was specific questions he wants answers to.

Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, Peter Spooner said he wants to know if information was passed between Birchwood High School and Culcheth High School about Scarlett Jenkinson.

He also wants to find out why Brianna was in the special education unit at Birchwood Community High School with Scarlett Jenkinson. When asked if it was because this was how Jenkinson was able to befriend Brianna, Mr Spooner agreed.

Brianna Ghey’s father has described her as “funny” when she was younger.

Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, Peter Spooner said he did not spend as much time with Brianna in her later years, although noted that she was more “quiet and shy” in her earlier teenage years.

Esther Ghey has revealed the details of her daughter Brianna’s friendship with Scarlett Jenkinson developed.

In a statement read to Cheshire Coroner’s Court on her behalf, Ms Ghey said the pair had been friends for around a year before Jenkinson and her accomplice Eddie Ratcliffe murdered Brianna.

Ms Ghey said the teenagers met in a special education unit at Birchwood Community High School, with the mother saying she was “happy” when her daughter started making friends there.

Brianna was on a reduced school schedule and Ms Ghey assumed Jenkinson was too because the pair would go to Asda together after school.

The mother said she would receive photos of Jenkinson dying Brianna’s hair as well as of the pair in Macdonald’s together.

However, Ms Ghey said she never saw Jenkinson’s face nor met her.

“But I was happy Brianna was going out and socialising – it was nice to see,” said Ms Ghey.

Brianna Ghey’s mother has detailed to the inquest her daughter’s mental health struggles.

In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Esther Ghey said that when Brianna was around 14 years old “many mental health and behaviour needs all seemed to come on around the same time”.

Ms Ghey said Brianna was initially referred for counselling and to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) after isolating herself in her room without washing or brushing her teeth for weeks. The teenager told CAMHS she was restricting her eating, Ms Ghey added.

At age 15, Brianna was diagnosed with ADHD and autism, Cheshire Coroner’s Court heard. She was given ADHD medication, however she did not take it because it suppresses appetite.

A referral to her GP followed, before Brianna ended up in hopsital over her low weight, Ms Ghey detailed to the court.

In hospital, a nurse noticed the teenager was self-harming, said Ms Ghey.

It was after she came out as transgender in 2020 that Brianna attended TAGS (Teenager and Gender Sexuality Youth Support), before beginning to take hormone medication in 2022.

“I was worried and held out for as long as possible as I was really worried about the long term implications of taking puberty blockers, but it got to the stage where she said she’d kill herself if she couldn’t take the meds,” said Ms Ghey.

Lockdown then marked a time when Brianna’s “mental health deteriorated massively”, the court heard. The teenager was spending a lot of her time in her room and online. “I feel the online world she was living in was very toxic,” said Ms Ghey.

Upon Brianna’s return to school following Covid, Ms Ghey said she refused to attend certain lessons due to the extent of her anxiety.

Esther Ghey has spoken about Brianna’s close relationship with her sister who was the first person she told she was transgender.

In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Esther Ghey said: “Brianna first came out to her sister … they would bicker like any other siblings, but they would tell each other everything.”

She added that it was during 2020 that she “started dressing as a female and going by the name of Brianna”.

Stating that she would not be naming Brianna’s sister, Ms Ghey also told of how she would be the first person to stand up for Brianna when they were both younger.

Ms Ghey said: “The sisters argued a lot, but despite this they played together nicely and loved each other very much. If anyone was mean to Brianna, her sister would be the first to stand up to them.”