‘Sadistic’ teenagers who tried to get away with Brianna murder

Within 24 hours of Brianna Ghey’s murder, investigating officers had identified the suspects – two teenagers who thought that hiding the most brutal of killings would be easy.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were just 15 at the time, were quickly arrested at their homes and taken away for questioning.

Detectives would soon unravel the crime despite the killers arrogantly presuming their endless lies would save them.

Sixteen-year-old Brianna, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight after being lured to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February.

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, who were referred to only as Girl X and Boy Y during their trial due to their ages, were convicted of her murder in December.

They were named publicly for the first time earlier as they were told they would be detained for at least 22 and 20 years respectively.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip agreed with media requests to lift an anonymity order which had prevented the media from publishing details that could identify them.

These details can now be reported for the first time.

Warning: Some readers might find the following report distressing

In a callous and cold-hearted twist, Brianna considered Jenkinson a friend.

The pair had met at Birchwood High School, also in Warrington, and had spent time together socially outside of school.

Jenkinson had joined Birchwood in November 2022 on a managed transfer from nearby Culcheth High School.

This was designed to reduce the risk of a permanent exclusion and to give her a second chance.

A BBC File on 4 investigation found that four months before Brianna’s murder, Jenkinson gave a younger pupil a cannabis sweet without telling her what it was.

The 13-year-old fell ill after eating the sweet and police, who treated the incident as a spiking, were called in.

Emma Mills, head teacher at Birchwood Community High School, said the school agreed to the transfer and was aware Jenkinson had taken cannabis into school.

However, BBC News understands the school was not aware she had drugged another pupil.

Warrington Borough Council said a review was under way.

A documentary – Killed in a Park by BBC North West Tonight – will be released later on BBC iPlayer.

File on 4 also tells the story behind the brutal killing of the 16-year-old on BBC Sounds.

“I’d had meetings with her and her mum before she came here and with a senior teacher from her school and we just talked through what happened that had led to the school asking her to come here on a placement,” said Ms Mills.

“We talked about our school rules, and we agreed targets for her to meet and she came across as very polite.”

Ms Mills told BBC North West Tonight that, during Jenkinson’s time at the school, there had not been any “red flags” or anything to indicate her friendship with Brianna was anything out of the ordinary.

To the outside world, photos on social media painted a picture of a happy childhood with family days out at the beach, pony-riding birthday parties and a loving relationship with her grandparents.

She had also recently become an aunt.

Ratcliffe’s upbringing had not been dissimilar to his fellow murderer.

There are pictures online of family holidays to the Lake District and North Wales in their campervan and games nights at home.

Ratcliffe, along with other family members, represented England in the World Kickboxing Championships in Jamaica, bringing home a silver medal.

Brianna met Ratcliffe just hours before she was killed.

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had known each other since they were 11 when they both started at Culcheth High School.

Brianna believed the three of them were going to hang out together in the park.

But the sickening reality was that Brianna had been lured there under false pretences.

The trial heard how Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had a fascination with violence, torture and murder and had planned the killing for weeks.

Messages between them showed they encouraged one another to think about how they would actually carry out a killing.

The pair were arrested at their homes the day after the murder.

Jenkinson lived in Culcheth with her home economics teacher mother and builder father.

Ratcliffe lived five miles away in the town of Leigh with his father, who owns a gym and is a kickboxing instructor, his graphic designer mother, and his siblings.

During the trial, Ratcliffe gave evidence by typing on a keyboard in a side room of the courtroom. His answers were spoken by an intermediary sitting beside him, and watched by the jury in the courtroom via video link.

Jurors were told Ratcliffe had “gradually stopped speaking” to anyone apart from his mother following his arrest, and had been diagnosed with selective mutism and autism spectrum disorder.

Jenkinson had traits of autism and ADHD.

Det Ch Supt Mike Evans said Cheshire Police might never know exactly what motivated the teenagers to murder.

“I don’t think many of us has ever seen the level of depravity shown and the dehumanising nature of the text messages between the two, and the hatred towards Brianna and others for no reason whatsoever,” he said.

“And just that thirst for killing from two 15 year olds – that was really disturbing.

“And we still do not know why they’ve done it. What led them to want to do it?

“Obviously now they’ve played on the fact that they thought it was fantasy but when you read those messages, it was quite clear that was a plan.

“That wasn’t a fantasy.”

The court heard how the teenagers’ web of deceit began shortly after the killing when the pair began to craft what they thought would emerge to be a cover story.

Jenkinson messaged Ratcliffe to say a “woman got stabbed” in the park.

“Holy crap” was Ratcliffe’s reply despite the pair later admitting to police they were present during the stabbing – albeit blaming each other for what happened.

The following day, Jenkinson messaged Brianna saying: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere.

“And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf.”

For Det Ch Supt Evans, it became clear early on that the two school pupils believed they could cover their tracks.

Jenkinson even assured Ratcliffe that he would not be caught, criticising the capabilities of police in the area.

“These are really high-functioning, intelligent children,” said the officer, who is Cheshire Police’s head of crime.

“I know people sat at home reading this will have this sort of image that they’ve built themselves.

“But actually they’re both really clever kids and very bright, very articulate.

“I think probably their downfall has been their confidence or arrogance around the fact that they thought that they could take another human life and then thought there would be no comeuppance for them and they’d never get caught.”

Both teenagers spoke about people they wanted to kill and by 26 January – just two weeks before Brianna’s death – they had compiled a “kill list” of five people.

“We never built this case around a transgender element,” said Det Ch Supt Evans.

“This was about the murder of a young, vulnerable girl. We obviously know there was that kill list, which had five people on it. Brianna was one of them.

“Brianna was the only person on that list who was transgender. This was about murderous intent for somebody.”

During the sentencing hearing, however, Judge Mrs Justice Yip said Ratcliffe was motivated in part by hostility to Brianna’s transgender identity.

In one message, Jenkinson told Ratcliffe she was “obsessed over someone” called Brianna but did not have feelings for the teenager.

“She was really cruel. This girl was the one who has befriended and who has betrayed and who has essentially instigated this attack throughout,” said Det Ch Supt Evans.

“She has been the planner behind it.”

Ursula Doyle, the Crown Prosecution Service’s deputy chief crown prosecutor, said one of the key elements of the case was the messages, which “provided a terrifying insight into the warped fantasies” of the teenagers.

“It also gave us the evidence to actually see how the whole event had unfolded from the planning right the way through to luring Brianna to the park on that date.

“In fact, the way the attack was carried out was exactly the way it had been planned.”

Det Ch Supt Evans added: “I think this case is truly horrific.

“I would rather we talked about Brianna than these two individuals.

“I think what they did on that day and leading up to that day was evil. It was cruel and it was vicious.

“But as I say, I only want to think about Brianna going forward, not these two individuals.”

File on 4 tells the story behind the brutal killing of 16-year-old transgender schoolgirl Brianna Ghey.

Listen on BBC Sounds

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