The family of Scarlett Jenkinson – who has been jailed for 22 years for murdering Brianna Ghey – have said they are “truly sorry”.

The killers, both 16, who were named for the first time on Friday, had denied murder and blamed each other for the attack, which was described as “horrific” by detectives.

Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were 15 when they carried out their “disturbing” plan to murder her in a “frenzied and ferocious” attack with a hunting knife.

Jenkinson was jailed for at least 22 years and Ratcliffe for a minimum of 20 years. They will be transferred to adult prisons when they turn 18.

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In a statement given exclusively to the Warrington Guardian, the family of Jenkinson said: “All of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family.

“The last 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett’s actions.

“We agree with the jury’s verdict, the judge’s sentence and the decision to name the culprits.

“Our lives are in turmoil, but our immediate focus is to make sure that we don’t do anything against the wishes of Brianna’s family.

“We offer our sincere thanks to Esther Ghey for her incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family. Her compassion is overwhelming and we are forever grateful.

“To all of Brianna’s family and friends, our community and everyone else that has been affected by this horror, we are truly sorry.”

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Brianna was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February last year.

Jenkinson, whose parents are teachers and lives close to the park in Culcheth, had been asked to leave her school, Culcheth High, over giving cannabis-laced gummy sweets to another pupil and joined Brianna’s school, Birchwood High, in October 2022 and quickly became “obsessed” with her.

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After the teenage killers were convicted, Esther Ghey called for “empathy and compassion” for their families as “they too have lost a child” and “must live the rest of their lives knowing what their child has done”.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip warned that anyone tempted to direct “vitriol or malice” towards the defendants’ families would be “acting against the express wishes” of Ms Ghey.

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