A boy and girl have been found guilty of murdering trans teenager Brianna Ghey. The unanimous verdict was delivered in Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday, December 20, after the jury deliberated for four hours and 40 minutes.

16-year-old Ghey was found dead in Culcheth Linear Park in Cheshire on February 11, 2023, having been stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife. The pair, labelled Girl X and Boy Y to protect their identities, both denied the murder and blamed each other for carrying out the attack.

However, the jury was told that they did not have to decide who stabbed Brianna Ghey to find them guilty of the joint crime. The weapon used, along with blood-soaked clothes, was found in Boy Y’s bedroom, while a crumpled handwritten note described as a “murder plan” was discovered in that of Girl X. 

Furthermore, the court heard that the two, now both aged 16, were obsessed with violence, torture and death and had a “kill list” that included Brianna and four other children. The defendants, who have known each other since they were 11, exchanged thousands of WhatsApp messages in the lead-up to the incident, discussing their disturbing plans, which they later claimed were just “dark fantasies”.

Delivering the verdict, Mrs Justice Yip thanked jurors for their service on an “extremely difficult and, at time, distressing case”. 

Speaking to the killers, she said: “I will have to impose a life sentence. What I have to decide is the minimum amount of time you will be required to serve before you might be considered for release.”

The judge then adjourned sentencing until next month.

“This has been one of the most disturbing cases we have ever dealt with,” Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor Ursula Doyle commented.

“The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief. Brianna Ghey was subjected to a frenzied and ferocious attack and was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight in a public park.”

Cheshire Police Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans claimed both teenagers “thought they’d never get caught,” adding that their downfall was their own “arrogance”.

“I think what they did on that day and leading up to that day was evil, it was cruel and it was vicious,” he added.

“It was absolutely heinous what they’ve done. It was the most brutal, cold-blooded, cruel attack on someone, who was a vulnerable and anxious child.”

Brianna Ghey’s mother Esther described her daughter as “fearless to be whoever she wanted to be”.

“She wanted to identify as a female, and she wanted to wear girls’ school uniform.

“She just did it – it wasn’t a hurdle at all for her.”

She continued, “The only way I can describe it is, there’s a hole in my heart…I know for a fact I will never get over this.”