Wigan borough schoolboy's sentence for killing Brianna Ghey was 'not too lenient'

Eddie Ratcliffe from Leigh and Scarlett Jenkinson from Warrington were both 15 when they brutally killed trans teen Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park last year.

They were convicted by unanimous jury verdict in December of the Birchwood schoolgirl’s murder following a four-week trial and were handed minimum terms of 20 and 22 years respectively by Mrs Justice Yip at Manchester Crown Court.

Both then had their cases referred to Attorney General Victoria Prentis for review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

But she has now ruled that the sentences were not deemed to be lenient, and as such were “acceptable”.

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office said: “A referral can only be made if a sentence is not just lenient, but unduly so.

“Such that the sentencing judge made a gross error or imposed a sentence outside the range reasonably available in the circumstances of the offence.

“The threshold is a high one, and the test was not met for these sentences.”

Ratcliffe has separately lodged an appeal against his sentence with the Court of Appeal and will be heard by a panel of judges at a future date.

Manchester Crown Court heard that the teenagers launched a “frenzied and ferocious” knife attack after hatching a “disturbing” plan to kill Brianna.

The judge said the murder was “brutal” and “sadistic” and that a secondary motive was 16-year-old Brianna’s trans identity.

Anxious and vulnerable, Brianna was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, on the afternoon of February 11, last year.

Jenkinson, Brianna’s school friend, whose parents are teachers and lives close to the park, was identified only as girl X during their trial last December at Manchester Crown Court.

Ratcliffe, from Leigh, whose mother is a skiing instructor and father runs his own businesses, had been identified only as boy Y.

Each had denied murder and blamed the other for the killing, described as “horrific” by detectives.

Ratcliffe, diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and who is non-verbal, and Jenkinson, diagnosed with traits of autism and ADHD, both faced a mandatory life sentence for murder.

Brianna’s parents told the sentencing hearing the pair should never be released from prison, with her mother Esther Ghey saying she felt her daughter’s killers still pose a danger to society.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms 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.”

Brianna’s father Peter Spooner said “no amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters” as he branded his daughter’s killers “pure evil”.

Intelligent, “high functioning” and coming from normal backgrounds, the trial heard Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had a fascination for violence, torture and murder and a “thirst for killing”.

Neither had been in trouble with police before.

They were discussing Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in a Jenkinson’s handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives.

Jurors were told it was “difficult to fathom” how the two child defendants could carry out such a disturbing crime.

Jenkinson, while aged 14, downloaded a TOR internet browser app, to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people, in “red rooms” on the “dark web”.

She grew an interest in serial killers, making notes on their methods, and admitted enjoying “dark fantasies” about killing and torture, the pair living in a secret world of warped interests in murder and cruelty, their trial heard.

They drew up a “kill list” of four other youths they intended to harm, until Brianna had the “misfortune” to be befriended by Jenkinson.

She had been asked to leave her school, Culcheth High, over an incident involving cannabis and joined Brianna’s school, Birchwood High, and quickly became “obsessed” with her.

Brianna had thousands of followers on TikTok, but in reality was a withdrawn, shy and anxious teenager who struggled with depression and rarely left her home.

Jenkinson told Ratcliffe she wanted to stab Brianna “jus coz its fun lol… I want to see the pure horror on her face and hear her scream”.

She got her wish after luring Brianna to the park on a Saturday afternoon, believing she was going to “hang out” with friends.

Their dark fantasies were about to become reality, the court heard, Jenkinson chillingly telling Brianna when she caught the bus to meet them not to buy a return ticket – and reminding Ratcliffe to bring his hunting knife.

Jenkinson had talked about “trophies” taken during killing plans and took a last photo of Brianna on her phone in the park.

Then at around 3pm Brianna, who had been seen sitting on a bench, was suddenly attacked, possibly initially from behind, with Ratcliffe’s hunting knife with a 13cm blade.

Brianna was “stabbed and stabbed and stabbed” in a “frenzied and ferocious” attack.

She instinctively tried to cover up – tendons in her hands and arms slashed in a futile attempt to fend off the blows.

She suffered 28 stab wounds, 14 to her head and neck and 14 to her chest, back and sides.

The blade cut her throat, puncturing her heart and lungs and the blows were delivered with enough force to damage the bones of her ribs, vertebrae and sternum.

As she lay dying Jenkinson sent a message to her victim’s phone, “Girl, where are you?”, to set up her cover story of Brianna leaving them to go off with another youth.

Seconds later she deleted a Snapchat conversation with Brianna, showing “cool and calculated” presence of mind.

Both teenagers went home and carried on as if nothing had happened, Jenkinson later posting an online tribute with a photo of her victim, saying: “Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met and such an amazing friend it’s so f****** sickening what got done to her.”

An hour later both were under arrest.

Arrogant Jenkinson had assured Ratcliffe not to worry about being caught as the local police were “shite”.

But they had been seen by witnesses walking to the park with Brianna and caught on CCTV and doorbell footage and quickly traced.

Detectives found the murder weapon with Brianna’s blood on the blade in Ratcliffe’s bedroom, along with heavily blood-stained clothing and trainers.

At Jenkinson’s home they found a handwritten note detailing the murder plan and naming Brianna as the victim.

Messages on their phones detailed their fascination with murder, torture and death, plans to kill other children and an earlier attempt to poison Brianna with an overdose.

At the sentencing hearing on Friday, the court was told Jenkinson had been seen by a psychiatrist after she was convicted and admitted for the first time to stabbing Brianna herself.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said: “She said effectively, she said that at the time of the killing she had in fact administered stab wounds herself.

“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.”

Ms Heer said, in a further account of events to a probation officer, Jenkinson had said she and Ratcliffe deliberately lured Brianna to the park.

Ms Heer continued: “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.”

Jenkinson’s barrister Richard Pratt KC later told the sentencing hearing: “Our instructions would now be it was Eddie who was responsible for the stabbing.”

He said when he asked the teenager why she had told people she had stabbed Brianna, Jenkinson said because she “felt responsible and she accepted she wanted herself to do the stabbing”.

Mrs Justice Yip said: “There is so much evidence of untruths in the case of Scarlett that it is impossible to believe anything she says.”

The gruesome murder of a transgender teenager in a public park prompted candlelit vigils worldwide protesting against perceived transphobia.

Detectives believe Brianna was killed because she was vulnerable and accessible, with her death not a hate crime but done for “enjoyment” and a “thirst for killing”.

Jenkinson claimed while she enjoyed fantasies of killing Brianna she never intended any of it to become reality.

Ratcliffe said he played along or treated it all as a joke and never wanted to harm anyone.

Jurors disagreed.