Brianna Ghey latest: Mother says she ‘knew something like this was going to happen’ after daughter’s death
Esther Ghey has said that when the police came to her house to break the news her daughter Brianna had died she “just knew something like this was going to happen because it was such a dark time for everyone”.
In a statement read to the inquest into Brianna’s death on her behalf, Ms Ghey also said: “I can’t believe the change that Brianna went through. When she was little, she was such a bundle of joy, but in her teenage years she was immersed in darkness. It sometimes feels like I’m grieving two different people.”
The trans teenager was stabbed to death in a “frenzied” and “sadistic” knife attack planned by schoolmate Scarlett Jenkinson and friend Eddie Ratcliffe in February 2023.
Both were aged only 15 at the time and were jailed for life for murder in February this year, with Jenkinson given a minimum term of 22 years and Ratcliffe 20 years.
The inquest will examine whether Jenkinson should have been placed at Birchwood High School with vulnerable Brianna following the young killer’s “managed transfer” from Culcheth High School after a cannabis-related incident.
The three-day probe into Brianna’s death will run from Wednesday until Friday at Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington.
The 16-year-old was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of 11 February last year.
Key Points
Brianna’s friend reveals teenager’s reason for meeting with Jenkinson on day of murder
Brianna Ghey’s friend has revealed the reason she believes the teenager met with Scarlett Jenkinson on the day of the murder.
Giving evidence to Cheshire Coroner’s Court, Daisy Birkin, 17, who said the pair met when they were in Year 7, detailed Snapchat messages she exchanged with Brianna on the day she was killed by Jenkinson.
Ms Birkin said Brianna had told her “they were going to go and do drugs”, adding that this was not the first time the two had met up to take drugs together.
Ms Birkin said Brianna told her they were also going to meet with Jenkinson’s drug dealer, which Ms Birkin said she assumed was Eddie Ratcliffe, Brianna’s second killer.
Ms Birkin added that Brianna told her she “going to meet up with my man” afterwards.
“I was aware that Brianna was speaking with older men online and on occasions meeting up with older men,” she told the court.
Brianna Ghey’s father tells inquest he has specific questions he wants answers to
Brianna Ghey’s father has told the inquest into his daughter’s death that he was specific questions he wants answers to.
Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, Peter Spooner said he wants to know if information was passed between Birchwood High School and Culcheth High School about Scarlett Jenkinson.
He also wants to find out why Brianna was in the special education unit at Birchwood Community High School with Scarlett Jenkinson. When asked if it was because this was how Jenkinson was able to befriend Brianna, Mr Spooner agreed.
Teenager’s father describes young Brianna as ‘funny’ before becoming more ‘quiet’
Brianna Ghey’s father has described her as “funny” when she was younger.
Giving evidence at Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Wednesday, Peter Spooner said he did not spend as much time with Brianna in her later years, although noted that she was more “quiet and shy” in her earlier teenage years.
Esther Ghey reveals details of developing friendship between Brianna and Jenkinson
Esther Ghey has revealed the details of her daughter Brianna’s friendship with Scarlett Jenkinson developed.
In a statement read to Cheshire Coroner’s Court on her behalf, Ms Ghey said the pair had been friends for around a year before Jenkinson and her accomplice Eddie Ratcliffe murdered Brianna.
Ms Ghey said the teenagers met in a special education unit at Birchwood Community High School, with the mother saying she was “happy” when her daughter started making friends there.
Brianna was on a reduced school schedule and Ms Ghey assumed Jenkinson was too because the pair would go to Asda together after school.
The mother said she would receive photos of Jenkinson dying Brianna’s hair as well as of the pair in Macdonald’s together.
However, Ms Ghey said she never saw Jenkinson’s face nor met her.
“But I was happy Brianna was going out and socialising – it was nice to see,” said Ms Ghey.
Esther Ghey details Brianna’s mental health struggles
Brianna Ghey’s mother has detailed to the inquest her daughter’s mental health struggles.
In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Esther Ghey said that when Brianna was around 14 years old “many mental health and behaviour needs all seemed to come on around the same time”.
Ms Ghey said Brianna was initially referred for counselling and to CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) after isolating herself in her room without washing or brushing her teeth for weeks. The teenager told CAMHS she was restricting her eating, Ms Ghey added.
At age 15, Brianna was diagnosed with ADHD and autism, Cheshire Coroner’s Court heard. She was given ADHD medication, however she did not take it because it suppresses appetite.
A referral to her GP followed, before Brianna ended up in hopsital over her low weight, Ms Ghey detailed to the court.
In hospital, a nurse noticed the teenager was self-harming, said Ms Ghey.
It was after she came out as transgender in 2020 that Brianna attended TAGS (Teenager and Gender Sexuality Youth Support), before beginning to take hormone medication in 2022.
“I was worried and held out for as long as possible as I was really worried about the long term implications of taking puberty blockers, but it got to the stage where she said she’d kill herself if she couldn’t take the meds,” said Ms Ghey.
Lockdown then marked a time when Brianna’s “mental health deteriorated massively”, the court heard. The teenager was spending a lot of her time in her room and online. “I feel the online world she was living in was very toxic,” said Ms Ghey.
Upon Brianna’s return to school following Covid, Ms Ghey said she refused to attend certain lessons due to the extent of her anxiety.
Court hears of Brianna’s close relationship with sister who was first person she came out to
Esther Ghey has spoken about Brianna’s close relationship with her sister who was the first person she told she was transgender.
In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Esther Ghey said: “Brianna first came out to her sister … they would bicker like any other siblings, but they would tell each other everything.”
She added that it was during 2020 that she “started dressing as a female and going by the name of Brianna”.
Stating that she would not be naming Brianna’s sister, Ms Ghey also told of how she would be the first person to stand up for Brianna when they were both younger.
Ms Ghey said: “The sisters argued a lot, but despite this they played together nicely and loved each other very much. If anyone was mean to Brianna, her sister would be the first to stand up to them.”
Brianna Ghey showed ‘very early signs of hyperactivity’, mother says
Brianna Ghey showed “very early signs of hyperactivity”, her mother has said.
In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Esther Ghey said: “Brianna met all her milestones, but in hindsight, there were very eary signs of hyperactivity, even at nursery.”
However, Ms Ghey described her daughter as “mischievous, funny and outgoing” in her younger years and having many friends. “All my friends were charmed by her, and she always seemed drawn to women,” she said. “She was so loving and always wanting to give out hugs.”
Brianna’s “high energy levels” continued into her later school years, Ms Ghey told the court, adding that she was always being called into school.
‘I knew something like this was going to happen as it was such a dark time,’ Esther Ghey tells of moment police came to house
Esther Ghey has said that when the police came to her house to tell her her daughter Brianna had died that she “just knew something like this was going to happen because it was such a dark time for everyone”.
In a statement read to the court by the senior coroner, Ms Ghey said: “When the police came to the house, I just knew something like this was going to happen because it was such a dark time for everyone.
“I can’t believe the change that Brianna went through. When she was little, she was such a bundle of joy, but in her teenage years she was immersed in darkness. It sometimes feels like I’m grieving two different people.”
Inquest to consider whether there were any ‘missed opportunities’
The inquest into Brianna Ghey’s death is set to consider whether there were any “missed opportunities”.
Cheshire’s Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish told the court the probe will also, more widely, look at any measures to prevent future deaths.