Life sentences for teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe murdered the 16-year-old in a park in Cheshire in February 2023.

Mrs Justice Yip said Jenkinson was motivated by a "deep desire to kill" while Ratcliffe's motivation was in part hostility to Brianna's transgender identity.

She was given 22 years, while Ratcliffe was detained for 20 years.

Both teenagers, who were 15 at the time of the murder and are now 16, could be seen staring ahead towards the judge and showed no visible reaction as they were sentenced.

Sentencing the pair at Manchester Crown Court, the judge said she did not "want to dwell on the murder itself but it was brutal", with Brianna suffering 28 stab wounds.

"Taken together the injuries point to a very sustained and violent assault," she added.

"Sadly, Brianna can't have lost consciousness immediately and she must have been aware she was being attacked."

Brianna's family were sitting across several benches. Her father Peter Spooner nodded as Jenkinson's sentence was handed down.

The killers' relatives were also present. Jenkinson's mother could be seen crying as the hearing concluded.

Mrs Justice Yip said Jenkinson's fantasy to kill had become a reality when she lured Brianna to the park.

While she acknowledged that Jenkinson had been the driving force behind the plan, she said it would be "wholly wrong to treat [Ratcliffe] as being under Scarlett's control".

She added that messages sent by Ratcliffe were "transphobic and dehumanising," adding that he "undoubtedly displayed hostility to Brianna based on her transgender identity".

In a victim impact statement read out in court before the sentences were handed down, Brianna's mother, Esther Ghey, said Jenkinson and Ratcliffe would always "pose a danger to society".

"I would never want them to have the opportunity to carry out their sadistic fantasies on another child."

She added the "hardest thing" to come to terms with was finding out that one of those charged with Brianna's murder was someone she believed to be her daughter's friend.

Brianna's sister Alisha Ghey said she now struggled to trust new people as it was "Brianna's friend who she trusted who ended her life".

Brianna's father said being the father of a transgender child had been "a difficult thing to deal with" but he had been "proud to gain another beautiful daughter".

"We were forming a new relationship and these two murderers have stolen that from us both," Mr Spooner added.

Her stepfather Wesley Powell told the court that while Brianna had a large online following, "in reality she was lonely, vulnerable and in need of a close friend".

"Both Eddie and Scarlett knew this and preyed upon her vulnerabilities, acting as two predators stalking their prey," he said.

In a statement to the Warrington Guardian, Jenkinson's family said they were "truly sorry" to Brianna's family, friends, and all those "affected by this horror", which has left their lives "in turmoil".

"The last 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett's actions," they said.

They added that they agreed with the sentence and decision to name the pair, saying that "all of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family."

Jenkinson's family also thanked Esther Ghey for her "incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family", and said they were "forever grateful" for her "overwhelming compassion".

-bbc