Brianna Ghey news - live: Scarlett Jenkinson’s family breaks silence as teen jailed with Eddie Ratcliffe
Two teenagers jailed for life for transphobic and sadistic killing of 16-year-old
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The family of teenager killer Scarlett Jenkinson has broken their silence as they said they have been living out their “worst nightmares”.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe stabbed 16-year-old Brianna Ghey 28 times with a hunting knife in a horrific attack on 11 February last year after luring her to Linear Park near Warrington.
The judge at Manchester Crown Court said the “exceptionally brutal” murder had elements of sadism by Jenkinson and transphobic hate by Ratcliffe.
Saying their lives were “in turmoil”, Jenkinson’s family thanked Brianna‘s mother Esther Ghey for her “incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family”.
In a statement to the Warrington Guardian, Scarlett Jenkinson’s family said: “All of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family.
“The last 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett’s actions.”
The four-week trial heard the pair, who were 15, had a fascination with violence, torture and serial killers, with Jenkinson wanting to keep a part of Brianna’s flesh as a “token”.
Jenkinson was jailed for a minimum term of 22 years, and Ratcliffe 20.
Killer Scarlett Jenkinson moved to Brianna Ghey’s school after spiking younger pupil
One of Brianna Ghey’s killers was moved to her school just 10 weeks before her murder, after drugging a younger pupil with a cannabis sweet.
Scarlett Jenkinson, 16, faced being expelled from Culcheth High School, which she attended alongside fellow killer Eddie Ratcliffe, but was instead transferred to Birchwood Community High School.
The incident involved a 13-year-old pupil who became ill, which occurred when Jenkinson was aged 15.
Read the full article here
Killer Scarlett Jenkinson moved to Brianna Ghey’s school after spiking younger pupil
Scarlett Jenkinson had spiked a 13-year-old victim with a cannabis sweet just months before killing Brianna
Brianna Ghey’s father describes daughter’s killers as ‘monsters’: ‘I hate them’
Brianna Ghey’s father said the “evil monsters” who killed his teenage daughter should be forgotten.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, brutally murdered 16-year-old Brianna in a frenzied killing on February 11 last year. The transgender teenager was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, by the callous youths she believed to be her friends.
Peter Spooner, disagreed with the judge’s decision to identify the teenage killers ahead of their sentencing on Friday as he fears their names will be “tied to Brianna’s all the time”.
Read the full article here
Brianna Ghey’s father says ‘evil monsters’ who killed daughter should be forgotten
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, brutally murdered 16-year-old Brianna in a frenzied killing on February 11 last year
More from Ratcliffe’s defence lawyer
Richard Littler KC, defending Eddie Ratcliffe, said Scarlett Jenkinson had revealed more details of the planning to a psychiatrist after her conviction.
He told the court she had said: “I was meant to get rid of the body. I was going to drag her into the pipe. Before I even got a chance to drag the body someone was coming up the path.
“I was going to put her in the pipe. I saw it before, it’s big enough to fit a person in.”
He said the case was not simply a joint enterprise murder and added: “We submit Eddie’s sentence should be significantly less than that of his co-defendant.”
Sentencing to begin shortly
The sentencing of Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe is due to resume at 2.15pm, with our reporter Tara Cobham confirming that the court has begun to assemble.
The killers of Brianna Ghey are facing a mandatory life sentence, but it will be up for the judge Mrs Justice Yip to decide the minimum term.
Doorbell footage captures Brianna Ghey leaving home hours before her murder
Awaiting judge to start sentencing
Our reporter Tara Cobham, who is at Manchester Crown Court, has said the hearing is due to start imminently and are waiting for the judge to enter.
Several members of Brianna’s family are in attendance, as well as the families of her two killers.
Parents of Brianna Ghey suggest daughter’s killers should never be released
In a victim impact statement read by a prosecution barrister as she was too upset to read it herself, 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.”
Her father Peter Spooner said: “Now my world has been torn apart, justice may have been done with the guilty verdicts, but no amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters.
“I cannot call them children as that makes them sound naive or vulnerable, which they are not, they are pure evil. Brianna was the vulnerable one.”
Sentence begins
Mrs Justice Yip has entered Courtroom 2 at Manchester Crown Court to sentence teenage killers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.
Judge warns defendants they may never be released
Beginning to sentence Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe for the murder of Brianna Ghey, judge Mrs Justice Yip addressed the child killers, telling them they face a life sentence.
She told the defendants: “You will only be released if in the future it is decided that you no longer remain a danger.”
Saying that that decision is for the parole board to make, she warned them: “You may never be released.”
Brianna remembered for her laughter and being a good listener
Addressing the killers, Mrs Justice Yip said: “Brianna was only 16 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her.
“Brianna had some struggles which made her vulnerable but she was supported by a loving family who wanted nothing but the best for her. Sadly no one will ever know what she would have achieved with her life.”
She continued: “Her family remember her for her laughter, full of life and being a good listener. Their loss is unimaginable.”
