When Brianna Ghey left home on 11 February, she thought she was going to meet a friend. But in what detectives described as the “ultimate betrayal”, the 16-year-old had been lured from her house that Saturday afternoon by a girl with “murderous intent”.
A little more than two hours later Brianna, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times in her head, neck and back with a hunting knife in Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington.
In the weeks before her murder two 15-year-olds, known only as girl X and boy Y, had meticulously planned the killing as they exchanged thousands of texts and WhatsApp messages.
Manchester Crown Court heard the killers shared “dark thoughts” and talked about their fascination with serial killers, violence, torture and death.
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Brianna Ghey on the day of her murder
As their conversations moved from horror films and Sweeney Todd to thoughts of murder, they compiled a “kill list” including Brianna and four other children.
In one exchange they discussed how they could kill one boy by hanging, but girl X said: “If we can’t get [him] tomorrow we can kill Brianna.”
She said she was “obsessed” with Brianna, while boy Y referred to her as “it” in what Cheshire Police Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans called “transphobic messages”.
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But he said no motive has been identified for the murder and believes it was simply Brianna’s “availability and accessibility” that made her the victim that day, adding: “This was about murderous intent for anyone.”
“They had a real thirst for death and for murder,” he said. “We believe that there were others possibly who it would’ve been had it not been Brianna.”
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Brianna Ghey’s parents read statement outside court following verdict
‘So I bring my knife’
Jurors were told girl X boasted of giving Brianna an overdose of ibuprofen gel in the weeks before her death.
Her mother Esther Ghey remembered she was “really sick”, adding: “She was writhing around in pain screaming, ‘I think I’m going to die’.”
In another exchange, girl X told boy Y that Brianna, from Birchwood, Warrington, had agreed to meet and he replied: “So I bring my knife.”
Girl X said: “Yes, is it definitely sharp enough btw,” then: “Meet me at the wooden posts in Linear at 12, we’ll go over plan again and I’ll show you where I’m killing her and then we both walk to the library to meet her.
“And grab onto Brianna, slit her throat, when she starts to fall stab her in the back then pass me knife. I want to stab her at least once even if she’s dead jus coz its fun lol.”
Image: Girl X and Boy Y exchanged thousands of messages
Image: Detectives said teens had ‘thirst to kill’
Brianna didn’t keep the arrangement on 28 January because of a family birthday but after agreeing to another meeting two weeks later girl X told boy Y she was “excited af” – meaning as f*** – the night before the killing.
CCTV footage shows Brianna getting on the bus to meet the pair and looking at her phone when she sent her mother a message saying: “I’m on the bus by myself, I’m scared”.
“That’s well good,” her mother replied. She told the jury she “was really proud of her” as she didn’t go out much because of her anxiety, but doesn’t think her daughter ever read the message.
Image: Brianna’s mum believes she never saw her final text
‘Murder plan’ found in bedroom
“I think this was the ultimate betrayal of someone she considered to be a friend who has lured her out of her house,” said Det Ch Supt Evans. “She thought she had a friend and actually that friend was planning to kill her.”
In the hours after the stabbing, girl X shared a tribute to “amazing friend” Brianna online and told her mother and police the victim had left the park with a young man from Manchester.
But she and boy Y were arrested within 24 hours of Brianna’s body being found by walkers and detectives said they seemed “quite timid but assured” until they realised the weight of the evidence against them.
A knife and blood-soaked clothes were found in boy Y’s bedroom.
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Brianna Ghey murder ‘most brutal attack’
A crumpled handwritten note described as a “murder plan”, was found on the floor of girl X’s bedroom with the heading: “Saturday, 11th February, 2023. Victim Brianna Ghey.”
With a smiley face and a heart in the top corner, the note said: “I say code word to [Boy Y]. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in stomach. [Boy Y] drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc.”
“They thought they could take another human life and they thought there wouldn’t be any comeuppance for them and they’d never get caught,” said Det Ch Supt Evans.
“Really, their downfall has been their confidence or arrogance.”
Image: Girl X posted a tribute to Brianna
Image: Handwritten ‘murder plan’ found in girl X’s bedroom. Pic: Cheshire Police
A ‘deadly influence on each other’
The officer described both killers as “high-functioning intelligent children”, although their age and mental health issues meant they were afforded special measures in court, including fidget toys and a schedule similar to a school day.
Boy Y, who gradually stopped talking following his arrest and was diagnosed with autism and selective mutism, typed his evidence, claiming he had given his knife to girl X, who had stabbed Brianna.
After the pair, who are now aged 16, were convicted, Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) deputy crown prosecutor Ursula Doyle said: “They were both equally responsible in planning the killing and carrying it out.”
She said the pair “appear to have been a deadly influence on each other and turned what may have started out as dark fantasies about murder into a reality”.
“The messages provided a terrifying insight into the warped fantasies of the two defendants,” Ms Doyle added.
“However, they also provided us with the detailed planning of the attack and the attempts to cover it up.”
All 14 children arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after a boy died in a fire have been released on police bail, officers said.
Layton Carr, 14, was found dead near the site of a fire at Fairfield industrial park in the Bill Quay area of Gateshead on Friday.
Northumbria Police said on Saturday that they had arrested 11 boys and three girls in connection with the incident.
In an update on Sunday, a Northumbria Police spokesman said: “All those arrested have since been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”
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Teenager dies in industrial estate fire
Firefighters raced to the industrial site shortly after 8pm on Friday, putting out the blaze a short time later.
Police then issued an appeal for Carr, who was believed to be in the area at that time.
In a statement on Saturday, the force said that “sadly, following searches, a body believed to be that of 14-year-old Layton Carr was located deceased inside the building”.
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David Thompson, headteacher of Hebburn Comprehensive School, where Layton was a pupil, said the school community was “heartbroken”.
Mr Thompson described him as a “valued and much-loved member of Year 9” and said he would be “greatly missed by everyone”.
He added that the school’s “sincere condolences” were with Layton’s family and that the community would “rally together to support one another through this tragedy”.
A fundraising page on GoFundMe has been set up to help Layton’s mother pay for funeral costs.
Image: Pic: Gofundme
Organiser Stephanie Simpson said: “The last thing Georgia needs to stress trying to pay for a funeral for her Boy Any donations will help thank you.”
One tribute in a Facebook post read: “Can’t believe I’m writing this my nephew RIP Layton 💔 forever 14 you’ll be a massive miss, thinking of my sister and 2 beautiful nieces right now.”
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Jenkins, of Northumbria Police, also said: “This is an extremely tragic incident where a boy has sadly lost his life.”
She added that the force’s “thoughts are with Layton’s family as they begin to attempt to process the loss of their loved one”.
They are working to establish “the full circumstances surrounding the incident” and officers will be in the area to “offer reassurance to the public”, she added.
A cordon remains in place at the site while police carry out enquiries.
Football bodies could be forced to pay towards the care costs of ex-players who have been diagnosed with brain conditions, under proposals set to be considered by MPs.
Campaigners are drafting amendments to the Football Governance Bill, which would treat conditions caused by heading balls as an “industrial injuries issue”.
The proposals seek to require the football industry to provide the necessary financial support.
Campaigners say existing support is not fit for purpose, including the Brain Health Fund which was set up with an initial £1m by the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), supported by the Premier League.
But the Premier League said the fund has supported 121 families with at-home adaptations and care home fees.
From England‘s 1966 World Cup-winning team, both Jack and Bobby Charlton died with dementia, as did Martin Peters, Ray Wilson and Nobby Stiles.
Image: Neil Ruddock speaks to Sky’s Rob Harris outside parliament
Ex-players, including former Liverpool defender Neil Ruddock, went to parliament last week to lobby MPs.
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Ruddock told Sky News he had joined campaigners “for the families who’ve gone through hell”.
“A professional footballer, greatest job in the world, but no one knew the dangers, and that’s scary,” he said.
“Every time someone heads a ball it’s got to be dangerous to you. You know, I used to head 100 balls a day in training. I didn’t realise that might affect my future.”
A study co-funded by the PFA and the Football Association (FA) in 2019 found footballers were three and a half times more likely to die of a neurodegenerative disease than members of the public of the same age.
‘In denial’
Among those calling on football authorities to contribute towards the care costs of ex-players who have gone on to develop conditions such as Alzheimer’s and dementia is Labour MP Chris Evans.
Mr Evans, who represents Caerphilly in South Wales, hopes to amend the Bill to establish a care and financial support scheme for ex-footballers and told a recent event in parliament that affected ex-players “deserve to be compensated”.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who helped to draft the amendment, said the game was “in denial about the whole thing”.
Mr Burnham called for it to be seen as “an industrial injuries issue in the same way with mining”.
A spokesperson for the FA said it was taking a “leading role in reviewing and improving the safety of our game” and that it had “already taken many proactive steps to review and address potential risk factors”.
An English Football League spokesperson said it was “working closely with other football bodies” to ensure both professional and grassroots football are “as safe as it can be”.
And that comes in the context of increased warnings from government and the security services about Iranian activity on British soil.
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Counter terror officers raid property
Last year, the director general of MI5, Ken McCallum, said his organisation and police had responded to 20 Iran-backed plots presenting potentially lethal threats to British citizens and UK residents since January 2022.
He linked that increase to the ongoing situation in Iran’s own backyard.
“As events unfold in the Middle East, we will give our fullest attention to the risk of an increase in – or a broadening of – Iranian state aggression in the UK,” he said.
The implication is that even as Iran grapples with a rapidly changing situation in its own region, having seen its proxies, Hezbollahin Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, decimated and itself coming under Israeli attack, it may seek avenues further abroad.
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The government reiterated this warning only a few weeks ago, with security minister Dan Jarvis addressing parliament.
“The threat from Iran sits in a wider context of the growing, diversifying and evolving threat that the UK faces from malign activity by a number of states,” Jarvis said.
“The threat from states has become increasingly interconnected in nature, blurring the lines between: domestic and international; online and offline; and states and their proxies.
“Turning specifically to Iran, the regime has become increasingly emboldened, asserting itself more aggressively to advance their objectives and undermine ours.”
As part of that address, Jarvis highlighted the National Security Act 2023, which “criminalises assisting a foreign intelligence service”, among other things.
So it was notable that this was the act used in one of this weekend’s investigations.
The suspects were detained under section 27 of the same act, which allows police to arrest those suspected of being “involved in foreign power threat activity”.