A candlelit vigil has been held in the home village of Brianna Ghey close to where the 16-year-old was stabbed to death last weekend, as a fundraising appeal for her family surpassed £100,000.
Brianna, 16, a trans girl, was found with fatal stab wounds in a park near Warrington on Saturday afternoon. A boy and a girl, both aged 15, have been charged with her “extremely brutal and punishing” murder and are due to stand trial in July.
Police said Brianna’s family had been overwhelmed by public support after vigils were held across the UK.
Hundreds of people gathered at Culcheth village green in Warrington, Cheshire, on Friday night to remember the teenager.
The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, who attended with his daughter Annie, tweeted: “Here to remember Brianna, send our love to her family and support to young trans people everywhere.”
Many of the well-wishers wore “rest in power Brianna Ghey” T-shirts, while the crowd also sang Over the Rainbow.
Tricia Anderton, 59, the secretary of Culcheth Village choir, said: “We are a very close community in Culcheth, with many of our choir members having lived in the village for many years and this awful tragedy has touched the hearts of everyone.
“We were asked specifically to sing Over the Rainbow, and it was so lovely to hear everyone joining in.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Brianna’s family and friends.”
Members of the public also gathered outside the Hippodrome theatre in Birmingham, with other vigils taking place in Southampton, Nottingham and Edinburgh.
Further memorials are scheduled to take place over the weekend including another in Warrington on Saturday afternoon.
A fundraising page set up four days ago for Brianna’s family topped £100,000 on Friday, with donations from more than 6,400 people far exceeding the original target of £4,216 to help pay for the funeral.
Victoria Potter, who helped set up the GoFundMe page, described Brianna as an “outgoing, confident girl” who had died in “the most shocking and heartbreaking way”.
She wrote on the page: “[Brianna] brought a lot of laughter to those who knew her. She was looking forward to taking her exams this year and beginning her journey into the adult world.
“We have set up this page to help the family at this truly devastating time. We need your support to help them with funeral costs (we want to make this pink and colourful to match her personality) and ask if you can spare anything no matter how small to try to relieve their stress and allow them to grieve their beautiful daughter.”
Cheshire constabulary launched a murder investigation after Brianna was found with fatal stab wounds on a path in Culcheth Linear Park at 3.13pm on Saturday.
DCI Adam Waller, the senior investigating officer, said the force had been inundated with information from people around the park where Brianna died.
He added: “Many of our officers have been approached to offer their best wishes to us and, especially, to Brianna’s family. I know that the family have also been overwhelmed by the messages of support, positivity and the compassion across the country and beyond – and the thoughts of everyone at the constabulary remains firmly with them.”
In a tribute issued after Brianna’s death, her family said the teenager was a “much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister”.
