Brianna Ghey murder trial: Accused teenagers had ‘preoccupation with death,’ court hears
Two 16-year-olds accused of murdering transgender teenager Brianna Ghey had a “preoccupation” with death, violence and torture, a court has heard.
The defendants, a girl and a boy, had previously shared messages about “dark web” torture videos, snuff films, and the fictional serial killer Sweeney Todd, jury members were told.
Prosecutors also told Manchester Crown Court that the pair had compiled a list of four people they wanted to kill, along with Brianna – with whom one of the defendants had become “obsessed”.
Brianna, 16, born a boy but who identified and lived as a girl, was fatally stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, in February this year.
The defendants, a girl, 16, identified only as X, and a boy, 16, identified only as Y, and who cannot be identified due to their age, deny her murder.
At the start of their trial, the jury was read messages recovered from the phones of girl X and boy Y which prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said showed a “preoccupation” with “violence, torture and death”.
Ms Heer told the jury how they discussed wanting to kill people they knew, and how, over time, they encouraged each other to think about how they would carry out such a plan.
Police at the scene in Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire
In November 2022, the pair discussed killing a child referred to as boy M, the court heard.
In one message, girl X said: “If I do end up killing boy M, I have a really sharp blade, the same one that Sweeney Todd uses.
“If we kill boy M can I keep some things, a couple of teeth and an eye.”
In early December 2022, girl X sent boy Y a video which was apparently an advert for an underground site for people who like rape, snuff, torture and murder.
Girl X told boy Y: “I love watching torture vids. Real ones on the dark web,” the jury heard.
The court heard that on 1 January 2023, boy Y sent girl X a photo of a hunting knife.
“It was this knife, members of the jury, that was to be used to kill Brianna just six weeks after this image had been sent,” Ms Heer said.
In December last year, the court heard, girl X messaged boy Y telling him she was “obsessed over someone” called Brianna.
Girl X told him that Brianna was trans, sounded just like a girl, and looked really pretty, the court was told.
Brianna Ghey. Pic: Cheshire Police
Ms Heer told the court that in January, girl X created a fake Instagram account to contact one of their targets, referred to as boy E, but the request was blocked.
“If we can’t get boy E tomorrow we can kill Brianna,” girl X said in one of the messages, read out in court.
Boy Y replied saying: “Yeah, it’ll be easier and I want to see if it will scream like a man or a girl.”
They discussed meeting Brianna and killing her at the park, the court heard, with girl X writing: “I want to stab her at least once even if she’s dead jus coz its fun lol [laughing out loud].”
While the pair met on 28 January in Culcheth Linear Park, they did not meet with Brianna, the court heard.
Ms Heer told the jury that Brianna died after she suffered a “sustained and violent assault” on the afternoon of 11 February.
Her body was discovered by dog walkers at about 3pm in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington.
The court heard the dog walkers saw a male and female breaking into a run as they approached Brianna’s body.
Ms Heer said there was no dispute that the male and female seen running away from Brianna’s body were the two defendants.
“Nor is there any dispute that in the days and weeks leading up to that day they had discussed killing her,” she added.
“Indeed, it is accepted that Brianna Ghey was killed with a knife that belonged to boy Y, a knife which he told girl X he would be bringing with him that day and which he said was sharp enough to kill her.”
The jury was told how the defendants, both of whom were 15 at the time of Brianna’s stabbing, denied murder and denied participating in killing her.
Ms Heer said: “Each blames the other. The prosecution case is that whoever it was who delivered the fatal blow or blows, both defendants are equally guilty.
“Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill Brianna.”
The trial, expected to last up to four weeks, was adjourned until Tuesday.
The mistaken release of an asylum seeker who was jailed for sexual offences has prompted widespread condemnation – and an extensive police operation.
Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, had assaulted a 14-year-old girl and a woman in Epping, about a week after he had crossed the Channel and arrived in the UK by boat.
Last night, the teenager’s father was visibly upset as he turned up at HMP Chelmsford – asking for answers on how Kebatu was freed just one month into a 12-month sentence.
He did not want to speak on camera – but told Sky correspondent Mollie Malone that he was “frustrated” at the thought of the Ethiopian national being back on the streets.
“The justice system has let us down,” he said.
Footage has emerged that appears to show Kebatu in Chelmsford town centre following his release – dressed in prison clothes and clutching his belongings in a see-through bag.
He then headed to the railway station and boarded a train bound for London’s Liverpool Street, which departed at 12.41pm yesterday.
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Accidental release ‘damaging’ for government
‘You couldn’t make it up’
Kebatu’s case had a high profile and led to weeks of protests outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, where he was staying alongside other asylum seekers.
When he was sentenced last month, Judge Christopher Williams warned he posed a “significant risk of reoffending”.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Chelmsford, Marie Goldman, told Sky presenter Barbara Serra she was “appalled, frustrated and angry about how this could possibly happen in the first place”.
She said it is clear something went “fundamentally wrong” at HMP Chelmsford – and her constituents are “fed up” with systems not working and underinvestment.
“It just destroys trust at a time when emotions are riding high. We’ve seen protests over the past few weeks and months, and there’s a lot of fear out there,” Ms Goldman added.
“It is so easy to lose trust and really hard to gain it – we need the government to get a grip on this.”
Protests were held at The Bell Hotel for several weeks
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp described Kebatu as a “dangerous illegal immigrant” – and said his premature release shows “staggering incompetence”.
He told Sky News: “We also need an urgent apology from Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood and Justice Secretary David Lammy who have presided over this fiasco.”
Mr Lammy, who also serves as deputy prime minister, has said he is “appalled” and “livid on behalf of the public that Kebatu is at large”.
He confirmed a full investigation is being launched, adding: “He should be deported back to Ethiopia after the sexual assaults that he’s committed.”
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Manhunt continues for Kebatu
Extensive policing operation under way
Multiple forces are now involved in the manhunt for Kebatu – including Essex Police, the British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police in London.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone told Sky presenter Gillian Joseph that detectives will be carefully piecing together his movements after walking free from HMP Chelmsford.
“All these forces will now be looking at the CCTV from the train itself – trying to locate him on the train and trying to identify at which stop he went off at, and where he went from that station,” he explained.
Mr Wettone said information from Essex Police’s initial investigation – including the contacts, friends and associates he had at the Bell Hotel – will also be a factor.
Questions will also be asked of the prison authorities: “Has he had any visits or phone calls? Has he got any friends or family in the country?”
He added that additional officers will have been allocated to the manhunt: “The Met will have some significant resources looking for him – maybe the Territorial Support Group or additional borough-based officers in and around Liverpool Street first of all.”
The British Transport Police could also be involved in further inquiries if Kebatu ended up travelling on the Underground.
“It really depends on where that thread goes – if they can locate where he got off, and then where he went to,” Mr Wettone said.
“This work is very, very fast-paced – there are detectives and intelligence officers working in the background, chasing up on leads and updating the teams on the ground.”
Experts are warning that without “fast changes” the UK could run out of drinking water in the future.
The first seven months of 2025 were the driest since 1976, with reservoirs across England only 56.1% full on average, according to the Environment Agency.
“I think that we do need to worry about the fact that there is this possibility we could run out,” Hannah Cloke, professor of hydrology from Reading University, told Sky News.
“It’s only if we start thinking like that, that we’re going to start conserving our water, otherwise we just take it completely for granted.
“It is all of our fault, we have not been paying attention to what’s going on… we need some very fast changes to the way that we are using water and the way that we’re storing water in order to stop this being a problem in the future, because our summers are only going to get hotter.”
By 2050, the government says that England could face a shortfall of five billion litres of water every day.
‘Growing pressure’ on water system
A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson said: “This government recognises the growing pressure on our water system and is taking decisive action.
“We’re delivering over £104bn of private investment to fix leaking pipes, build nine new reservoirs and secure our water supply for the future.”
Latest figures suggest that around 2,690 megalitres of water is lost every day in England through leaks – the equivalent of 1,076 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
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‘We have invested an extra £10m’
“Leaks are a really important issue for us. We have invested an extra £10m just to deal with the weather that we’ve seen this summer,” said Dr Geoff Darch, head of strategic asset planning for Anglian Water.
Anglian Water is also hoping to build two new reservoirs in the East of England.
“We don’t want to stop people using water, it is absolutely essential for everything that we need it to do,” Dr Darch said.
“But I think we’ve got to a point now where we have to realise that water is a precious resource, it’s something that we all have to look after so that we have it for future generations and for the environment and with climate change and drought, we will need more reservoirs.”
The government claims it is fast-tracking new reservoirs to address the problem
Concerns about ‘whole system starting to collapse’
In August, the UK received just 62% of its average rainfall, according to the Met Office, which is leading a group of residents to monitor their water stocks closely.
“We collect all our own water from the rain, and so if we don’t have the rain that’s a significant issue,” explained Simon Tilly, director of the Hockerton eco housing project in Nottinghamshire.
He told Sky News they were working together to use less water.
“I suppose I’m most concerned about the whole system starting to collapse. There’s potential for longer droughts and us having a lot of water stress, there’s potential for a lot of floods when the drought finishes… and just generally that system going into random patterns where we’re getting more droughts and more floods,” he added.
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