Inquest into the death of murdered British transgender teenager Brianna Ghey hears mother ‘knew something like this would happen’

During the inquest into the death of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, she learned that her mother “knew something like this was going to happen.”

Warning: This story contains details that may be upsetting to readers.

Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times in the head, neck, chest and back with a hunting knife in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington, England on February 11, 2023.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, then 15, were found guilty of Brianna’s murder in December 2023 and sentenced to life in prison.

Jenkinson must serve at least 22 years before being eligible for parole, and Ratcliffe must serve 20 years.

The trial heard they were both intelligent and had a fascination with violence, torture and serial killers. They had been planning the attack for weeks, detailing the handwritten plan and phone messages detectives found.

Sentencing in February this year, the judge ruled that Ratcliffe – a friend of Jenkinson’s – had also expressed transphobia towards Brianna.

The inquest into Brianna’s death began on Wednesday and is expected to last until Friday.

Here’s what we know so far.

What will the investigation involve?

Cheshire Senior Coroner Jacqueline Devonish outlined the scope of the inquest at Warrington Coroner’s Court earlier this year.

“I think we’re basically going to be dealing with conservation issues,” she said.

Ms Devonish said the starting point would be Brianna’s contact with her killers, Jenkinson and Ratcliffe.

Jenkinson transferred to Birchwood High School and within weeks became obsessed with Brianna, the court previously heard.

The inquiry will examine whether it “could reasonably have been foreseen” that Brianna would be exposed to risk by being in the same group room as Jenkinson, and whether the school “was appropriately prepared to manage Brianna and Scarlett Jenkinson together in the light of their history and considerations.” “protective”.

It will also examine whether relevant agencies have done enough to support Brianna in the areas of mental health, eating disorders and gender.

More broadly, Ms Devonish told the court she would consider all measures to prevent future deaths.

“I knew something like this would happen.”

On Wednesday, the inquest heard testimony from Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, which detailed how Brianna struggled with her mental health and eating disorders, the BBC reports.

“I can’t believe the change Brianna has gone through. When she was little she was full of joy, but as a teenager she was in darkness.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m mourning two different people.”

At the age of 14, Brianna began struggling with her mental health but was reluctant to engage with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).

She developed an eating disorder and was hospitalized.

Staff at the eating disorders clinic noticed that Brianna was self-harming and informed Ms Ghey. “At one point she carved a row of love hearts on her arm,” Ms. Ghey’s statement said.

Brianna, who had a large following on TikTok, was also put into treatment for ADHD and was diagnosed with autism.

Ms Ghey said: “In 2020, Brianna began dressing as a woman and using the name Brianna,” the Independent reported

“She mentioned that she wanted to take hormonal medications. There was a four-year waiting list on the NHS, so Brianna wanted to go private.

“I lasted as long as possible because I was worried about the long-term consequences of taking the puberty blockers, but it got to the point where she said she would kill herself if she couldn’t take the drugs.”

The inquest was also told that when Brianna started dating Jenkinson a year before the murder, Ms Ghey was relieved and “grateful” because she had been dating

Killer’s mother stated he had “good morals”

Two statements were read at the inquest on behalf of Eddie Ratcliffe’s mother, Alice Hemmings. Both were written after his arrest and before his trial.

In one statement, Ms. Hemmings described Ratcliffe as “a good child with good morals and a loving, caring family,” The Guardian reported.

Investigators found that Ratcliffe had planned to study microbiology at Oxbridge University before the murder and had never been in trouble at school.

“Eddie clearly knows right and wrong, right and wrong, and is risk-averse,” Ms. Hemmings said.

“He’s careful. He has never been diagnosed but has many autistic traits. He’s quite clumsy, but polite.”

Mrs Hemmings described how her son seemed “tense and moody” when she dropped him off to meet Brianna and Jenkinson on the day of the murder.

Later that evening, after Brianna’s death, Ratcliffe told his mother that he had had a good time.

“I asked him if he had a good time and he said yes. He was chasing Pokémon (in the Pokémon Go mobile game) and eating a ham and cheese baguette,” Ms. Hemmings said in a statement.

The investigation continues.

ABC/Wires