Mum of murdered schoolgirl Brianna Ghey calls killers cowards but urges for compassion for families
The mother of a schoolgirl murdered by two teenagers has called her daughter's killers "cowards" but urged for compassion for their families.
Brianna Ghey, 16, was killed in a "frenzied and ferocious" attack after being lured to Culcheth Linear Park, in Warrington, on 11 February 2023.
Two teenagers, who were 15 at the time and were fascinated by violence, serial killers and death, were found guilty of her murder in December following a four week trial.
Legal restrictions are in place preventing the naming of the pair because of their age and they have been known as Girl X, from Warrington, and Boy Y, from Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Speaking for the first time since their conviction, Brianna's mum Esther, exclusively told Good Morning Britain the way the pair acted in court 'shows their character'.
She said: I think the fact they both pointed the finger at each other shows they’re cowards really, and shows the character of each of them.
“Maybe if they had have admitted or shown a little remorse I might have felt some sympathy still but the fact that they were both pointing the finger and neither admitted anything and there was no emotion there I don’t feel guilty that they will be sent to prison.”
But Esther also called for compassion for the two families, saying they did not need to be reminded of what their children had done.
"I always get emotional when I think about the parents,” she said. “I saw how they were in court and how distraught when the verdict came through, I could see myself in them, the way I felt when Brianna had been murdered.
"They’ve also lost a child, they’ve not only lost a child but they have to deal with what happened for the rest of their life now, when do we stop blaming the parents, at what age do you stop blaming the parents?
"Nobody goes out or wants their child to commit such a crime, nobody sets out to bring their child up like that.
"I felt that people needed to show some empathy and compassion to them as well because they don’t need a constant reminder of what their child has done, they know very well what their child has done.”
Esther Ghey spoke to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday
Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in a "sustained and violent" assault inflicted with "considerable force" to her head, chest, back and neck - including one wound directly through her heart.
Girl X and Boy Y, who were 15 at the time, denied her murder and blamed each other - but following a four week trial - a jury at Manchester Crown Court unanimously found them guilty of murder.
Paying tribute to Brianna, Esther said: “She was an absolute character, she was very outgoing, she absolutely loved attention, she was so funny as well, I miss her laughter so much.
"I miss her coming down, she was just a normal teenager, I even mis the grief she gave me as normal teenagers do.
“We miss her so much.”
She added she felt a "sense of relief" following the convictions but did not know if justice would ever be done for her daughter.
“I think the only way I can describe how Im feeling is just pure relief," she said.
"I don’t know if justice will ever be done for Brianna, but I feel like it would be nice to have her back home, that would be justice for me, but that isn’t going to happen.
“But knowing that they are going to have a long time, forever in prison is a massive relief because during the trial, it was a bit of a rollercoaster, there was a seed of doubt maybe the jury would come to the decision they were not guilty - so hearing that ‘guilty’ was a massive relief.”
After the trial judge, Mrs Justice Yip, heard arguments for and against whether the defendants should be named, ruling they can after they were found guilty on Wednesday 20 December.
She said: “There is a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case.”
Both will lose their anonymity when they are sentenced on 2 February.
Speaking about her support for identifying the pair, Esther said: "When they are 18 the names will be released anyway, I think its inevitable.
"We might as well get it all done in one go, release the names and then we can hopefully move forward and do something more positive.
“It’s that sense of closure for me and my family.”
Esther added she did not know if rehabilitation for the pair was possible.
“As long as possible really, at this moment in time I don’t feel like there is any rehabilitation whatsoever," she said.
"But that could change, I don’t know how I could feel further on down the line if they did show any kind go change in their behaviour.”
Esther was joined on the Good Morning Britain sofa by Brianna's former Headteacher, Emma Mills. She'd also accompanied Esther in court during the trial.
She said lessons need to be learned about the safety of children online in the wake of her former pupil's death.
She said: "In terms of what I heard in court about that pattern of behaviour it all seems to be online. I think the lesson to be learned are about online safety. I know that there was a new online safety bill that was signed into law in November. That is very focussed on child safety online and the responsibility of social media sites to protect children and for things to be flagged up."
Emma Mills spoke to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday
"I think it's really tough since the pandemic. What happened is young people relied so much on the online world, especially for their social interactions.
"As we've come out of the pandemic that part of their life is so much bigger than it was before. This generation are growing up in a way that's very different to the way in which any teenager has grown up before."
Esther has now joined forces with local paper the Warrington Guardian to create the Peace in Mind campaign in Brianna's memory.
The project is raising money to send teachers on Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) training courses, which will provide more support for children of all ages.
It is hoped mindfulness techniques in schools will allow children to process and deal with negative emotions in a healthy way, and prevent mental health problems from developing in later life.
Esther Ghey spoke to Good Morning Britain on Wednesday
“When Brianna was here she actually struggled with mental health," Esther said.
"She was self harming, she had an eating disorder, she had anxiety, so she was so complex because on one side she seemed like such a confident person, but on the other side she had all of these difficulties.
“Because of my experience with Brianna I wanted to try and help there people so we started the Peace in Mind campaign.
"We’re so close to the target now to try so we will be able to get a mindfulness teacher in every school in Warrington and I’m hoping to get this spread out across England as well.
“I’m in talks with our local MPs and the government to get things moving there. We think it would be great if mindfulness could be part of teacher training and then it’s embedded then.”
The project has currently raised £49,00 of its £50,000 goal, and donations can be made here.