Teenage killers of Brianna Ghey, 16, can be named for first time, judge rules

The two teenagers who murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey will be named when they are sentenced, a judge has ruled.

The teens were just 15 when they lured Brianna to Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington, where she was stabbed 28 times in her head, neck and back with a hunting knife on 11 February.

The pair, who are now 16, were granted anonymity throughout their trial at Manchester Crown Court because of their age and were identified only as girl X and boy Y.

But after they were found guilty of Brianna’s murder on Wednesday, the judge ordered the press can identify them for the first time on the afternoon of 11 February.

Mrs Justice Yip praised Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey after her comments following the guilty verdicts.

Speaking on Wednesday, Ms Ghey said “they too have lost a child” and “must live the rest of their lives knowing what their child has done”.

On Thursday Mrs Justice Yip said: “Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, expressly called for empathy and compassion to be extended to the parents of the defendants.

“That showed remarkable fortitude and humanity. Those who have seen the defendants’ parents in court over the last few weeks will recognise their suffering.

“Anyone who is tempted to direct vitriol or malice towards the defendants’ families would do well to recognise that they would be acting against the express wishes of Brianna’s bereaved mother.

“They might also question the part they are playing in society in the context of a case in which dark thoughts and hateful messages became enacted in real life.”

Murderers can be named

Ruling the identity of the killers could be disclosed when they are sentenced, Mrs Justice Yip said: “There is a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case.”

She added: “The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful.

“Continuing restrictions inhibits full and informed debate and restricts the full reporting of the case.”

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The judge said it was “inevitable” they would be named eventually as the order banning their identification would have lapsed in 2025, when they turned 18.

“Continuing the reporting restrictions until the defendants turn 18 would, in my view, represent a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the freedom of the press,” she ruled.

‘Kill list’

The teenagers, from Leigh, had been friends since they were about 11 years old and jurors heard they were obsessed with violence, torture and death.

The court heard they had compiled a “kill list” including Brianna, who was transgender, and four other children.

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They both claimed the thousands of texts and WhatsApp messages they exchanged were just “dark fantasies” and each said their back was turned when the other stabbed Brianna, from Birchwood, Warrington.

But the jury found them both guilty of murdering Brianna in what prosecutors described as a “frenzied and ferocious” attack and they are facing life prison terms when the judge sentences them in the new year.

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