Two 16-year-olds have been convicted of the murder of Brianna Ghey, a teenage boy who identified as a girl, who was lured to a park near Manchester with the specific aim of realizing the pair’s fantasy. Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in Linear Park, Culcheth, near Warrington, Cheshire, on Feb. 11, 2023. Because Brianna’s killers were both juveniles, they could not be named for legal reasons and were referred to throughout the trial as Girl X and Boy Y. The pair—who were both 15 at the time of the attack—sought to blame each other during the trial at Manchester Crown Court, but on Wednesday, they were both found guilty of murder. The judge, Mrs. Justice Yip, told them: “I will have to impose a life sentence. What I have to decide is the minimum amount of time you will be required to serve before you might be considered for release.” She said they would both be sentenced in the New Year.
The trial revealed that the pair had shared a “kill list” that included Brianna but also several other children who one or other of them had grudges against for various reasons. Both defendants sought to blame the other but Mrs. Justice Yip told the jury that “On the facts of the case and the evidence before you, they can’t both be telling the truth.” Prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC told the jury the truth was that the pair shared an obsession with violence, torture, and murder and were “in it together from first to last.”
The court heard Boy Y was socially awkward and had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and selective mutism. He had referred to Brianna as “it” but denied he was transphobic. Girl X admitted she enjoyed watching torture and violence from the “dark web” and had an interest in serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer, Harold Shipman, and Richard Ramirez, known as “The Night Stalker.” But she denied a “murder plan” that was found in her bedroom was a blueprint for exactly what happened to Brianna. The note listed details of the planned murder and indicated that both parties were involved.
Boy Y, who passed eight GCSEs and was teaching himself A-levels and wanted to study microbiology at university, gave evidence that he was “admiring the trees” moments before the murder. He claimed he was relieving himself behind a tree when he heard noises and realized Girl X was stabbing Brianna. Boy Y admitted running off with Girl X as some dog walkers approached, and he said when he asked his friend why she stabbed Brianna, Girl X told him, “She had tried to get me to break up with my boyfriend and that is unforgivable.”
The pair face mandatory life sentences. Their ages will be a factor that will inevitably reduce the minimum tariff they are given by Mrs. Justice Yip.