02 February 2024 , 14:48
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Brianna Ghey's two teenage killers were motivated by hostility towards her being transgender, evidence has revealed in court.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, were convicted of the murder of the transgender student in December after she was stabbed to death earlier last year. Manchester Crown Court heard how Eddie had previously displayed dislike towards Brianna, also aged 16, as he used "disparaging terms" when referencing to her transgender identity.
Deanna Heer KC prosecutes suggested that Scarlett may have used this knowledge to encourage him to murder Brianna. It comes after it was revealed that Eddie "panicked" during the attack and wanted to back out of the murder plot. Deanna Heer said: "She ( Scarlett ) said Eddie had thrown Brianna to the floor and stabbed her three or four times then he panicked and said he did not want to kill her, so she carried on and stabbed her a number of times. When asked how many, she answered, ‘A lot.’ She was satisfied and excited by what she was doing.”
Speaking about the sentencing terms, Ms Heer explained that it is fixed by law. "Since the defendants were under 18 at the time of the offence, it is a mandatory sentence of detention under his majesty’s pleasure. Effectively , life imprisonment," she explained.
Brianna was brutally stabbed 28 times (Cheshire Police / SWNS)
Brianna's killers had planned to murder her ahead of time (PA)She says that Justice Yip must fix a minimum term they must serve before they can become eligible for release, and that the starting point could be one of 20 years. Ms Heer says that “hostility relating to the deceased’s transgender identity” and “whether it was a murder involving sadistic conduct” could be considered aggravating features.
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She further told the court that the former may apply if “the offence was motivated wholly or partly towards persons who are transgender” and adds: “There is evidence capable of proving this offence was motivated in part by Brianna’s transgender identity. While the court will want to give consideration to the defendants’ age and immaturity, and on the so-called kill list there were other children who were not transgender."
She continued: "Nevertheless, there is evidence that the murder of Brianna was motivated by hostility towards her transgender. In Eddie’s case, he spoke about Brianna in disparaging terms in respect of her transgender identity. In Scarlett’s case, although she did not use language to that extent, it can be inferred she encouraged Eddie to kill Brianna knowingly his transphobic attitudes would make him more likely to do so. If the court is not satisfied that any such hostility would justify an uplift to the starting point, it nevertheless may amount to an aggravating feature.”