Brianna Ghey: Boy and girl accused of murdering transgender teen had 'kill list'

Two teenagers accused of murdering transgender teen Brianna Ghey had a "hit list" of four people they were planning to kill, a court has heard.

In the first day of their trial at Manchester Crown Court, the Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, told the court that both defendants had made multiple attempts to kill Brianna, and on one occasion attempted to make her have an overdose.

Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in her head, chest, back and neck while in Culcheth Linear Park, in Warrington, Cheshire on 11 February 2023.

A girl and a boy, both aged 15 at the time, were arrested and charged with the murder of Brianna.

Both defendants, now aged 16, appeared at court on Monday 27 November for the start of their trial, which is expected to last between three and four weeks.

The jury was told each defendant denied murder and denied participating in killing Brianna.

Neither accused can be named by court order because of their age and are identified only as Girl X, from Warrington, and Boy Y, from Leigh, Greater Manchester.

At the start of their trial the jury of seven men and five women were told they had made plans to kill other children before killing Brianna.

Girl X, wearing a dress and grey cardigan and boy Y, wearing black trousers and shirt with a grey tie, sat in the dock listening as Deanna Heer KC opened the case for the prosecution.

Deanna Heer KC also told the jury that Girl X was intrigued by Brianna months before her death, pointing to text messages between her and Y on 15 December 2022 in which she said she was "obsessed over someone" called Brianna.

In his messages, Boy Y often referred to Brianna as "It."

The court also heard that on January 1, boy Y sent girl X a photo of a hunting knife and told her: “Spent my money. I bought a knife.”

Ms Heer said: “It was this knife, members of the jury, that was to be used to kill Brianna Ghey just six weeks after this image had been sent.”

On 23 January 2023, Girl X's fascination with Brianna turned darker when messaged Boy Y telling him she had given Brianna ibuprofen gel tablets that “should have been enough to kill her”.

The prosecution also said that Brianna's mother, Esther Ghey, recalled her being ill around that time.

By 26 January 2023, Girl X and Boy Y had compiled a list of four people they wanted to kill, including Brianna.

The two defendants went on to make multiple attempts to lure Brianna to Culceth Park over the next few weeks, and discussed over texts how they should kill her.

In a message read to the court, girl X told boy Y:"IIf we can’t get boy E tomorrow we can kill Brianna."

Boy Y replied saying: "Yeah, it’ll be easier and I want to see if it will scream like a man or a girl."

As well as the defendants fixation on Brianna, the court also heard about their "preoccupation" with "violence, torture, death."

In messages recovered from their phones, the prosecution showed how, over time, they encouraged one another to think about how they would carry out the plan to kill.

In November 2022 they discussed killing a child referred to as boy M, the court heard.

In one message girl X said: “If I do end up killing boy M, I have a really sharp blade, the same one that Sweeney Todd uses.

“If we kill boy M can I keep some things, a couple of teeth and an eye.”

Ms Heer said that they both blame each other for Brianna's death.

She said: “The prosecution case is that whoever it was who delivered the fatal blow or blows, both defendants are equally guilty.

“Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill Brianna Ghey.”

Cheshire Police have warned against online speculation on the identities of the two defendants, as any attempts to name them could affect the trial.

On X, formerly Twitter, the force said: "It’s vital that their identities are not compromised in order for the trial to go ahead safely and fairly, so please avoid speculating or commenting on this case online."It’s really important that justice is done for Brianna’s family – please help us make sure it is."

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