The pair, who were only 15 at the time, stabbed 16-year-old Brianna 28 times with a hunting knife in Linear Park, Culcheth, Cheshire, on Feb. 11, 2023.
Because they were both juveniles they were referred to throughout the trial as Girl X and Boy Y but on Friday Mrs. Justice Yip lifted reporting restrictions on Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.
The pair sought to blame each other during the trial at Manchester Crown Court, but they were both found guilty of murder.
The trial heard the pair shared a “kill list,” which included Brianna but also several other children who one or other of them had grudges against for various reasons.
Jenkinson has Confessed to her Role
During a sentencing hearing on Friday, prosecutor Deanna Heer, KC, said Jenkinson—who claimed during the trial she was innocent—had made a number of “admissions” to a psychiatrist since being convicted on Dec. 20, 2023.
Jenkinson claimed during the trial Ratcliffe had stabbed Brianna while she stood and watched.
But Ms. Heer said Jenkinson now admitted she and Ratcliffe had both stabbed Brianna and she also said that while he disliked Brianna because she was transgender, her motivation was, “quite different.”
The prosecutor said: “Her motivation for doing so was anticipating Brianna was going to leave her and wanted to kill her so she would always be with her.”
Jenkinson has also said she had intended to cut off part of Brianna’s body, “as a token, part of her flesh.”
The girl has also admitted she was responsible for poisoning Brianna with pills some months earlier, something she had denied during the trial.
Regarding the killing itself, Ms. Heer said, “She said effectively, she said that at the time of the killing she had in fact administered stab wounds herself.”
The prosecutor said: “She had snatched the knife from Eddie’s hand and stabbed Brianna repeatedly. She said Eddie had thrown Brianna to the floor and stabbed her three or four times then he panicked and said he did not want to kill her, so she carried on and stabbed her a number of times.”
“When asked how many, she answered, ‘A lot.’ She was satisfied and excited by what she was doing,” added Ms. Heer.
Jenkinson ‘Delivered the Majority of Stab Wounds’
Ms. Heer: “On this occasion she said it was she who first inflicted stab wounds then passed it to Eddie who forced the victim to the floor, stabbing her about three times, at that point she took the knife and delivered the majority of stab wounds.”The trial heard Jenkinson—who was diagnosed with traits of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—admitted she had an interest in serial killers Jeffrey Dahmer, Harold Shipman, and Richard Ramirez, known as “The Night Stalker.”
At the age of 14 she had downloaded an app to access the so-called dark web and watch torture and snuff videos in “red rooms.”
Ratcliffe—who passed eight GCSEs and was teaching himself A-levels and wanted to study microbiology at university—was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and was non-verbal, meaning he had to give evidence using a whiteboard.
He told the jury he was “admiring the trees” moments before the murder and claimed he was relieving himself behind a tree when he heard noises and realised Jenkinson was stabbing Brianna.
Ratcliffe’s barrister, Richard Littler, KC, denied his client was motivated by transphobia. He said: “The fact that Brianna was trans is immaterial. This has nothing to do with gender at all. Finding a few offensive comments made by an autistic adolescent does not satisfy the court to a criminal standard, of effectively a hate-crime, motivation. They were juvenile and immature.”
In a statement read to the court on Friday, Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, said, “I don’t believe that someone who is so disturbed and obsessed with murder and torture would ever be able to be rehabilitated.”
“I have moments where I feel sorry for them, because they have also ruined their own lives, but I have to remember that they felt no empathy for Brianna when they left her bleeding to death after their premeditated and vicious attack, which was carried out not because Brianna had done anything wrong, but just because one hated trans people and the other thought it would be fun,” she added.
Brianna’s stepfather Wesley Powell said in a statement read to the court, “Brianna had a large online following but in reality she was lonely, vulnerable and in need of a close friend.”
“Both Eddie and Scarlett knew this and preyed upon her vulnerabilities, acting as two predators stalking their prey,” he added.
