A detailed plan to kill Brianna Ghey was found in the bedroom of a teenage girl who is accused of her murder, a court has heard.
Two teenagers, referred to as girl X and boy Y, are charged with murdering Brianna, a 16-year-old transgender girl who was stabbed in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February.
On Tuesday, the trial heard that girl X sent a picture to her co-accused of a handwritten note headed: “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey.”
The paper read: “Meet boy Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library... bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the three of us walk to Linear Park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area.
“I say code word to boy Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Boy Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc.”
Brianna, a transgender teenager who had been born a boy but lived as a girl, was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in her head, chest, back and neck.
A note was found in girl X’s bedroom planning to stab Brianna in the back and stomach, the court heard— (PA)
Both defendants, a girl and boy who were aged 15 at the time, have denied murder.
Jurors at Manchester Crown Court heard that the duo, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a preoccupation with violence, torture and death and had previously compiled a list of at least four people that they wanted to kill.
When police searched girl X’s bedroom following her arrest on 12 February, they also discovered other handwritten notes including a plan to kill which said: “Give them alcohol with sleeping pills, slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags.”
Other notes referred to infamous serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman.
Brianna’s death was met with an outpouring of grief earlier this year— (PA)
The court heard that on 10 February, girl X had arranged to meet Brianna and later told boy Y she was “excited as f***” for the following day, after they discussed which knife he would bring.
The two met shortly before 1pm while Brianna travelled to meet them in Culceth, sending her mother a text message at 1.41pm which said: “I’m on the bus by myself, I’m scared.”
The three met just before 2pm and walked to the park, with the prosecutor saying there were some further Snapchat messages between Brianna and girl X while they were in the park.
At 3.06pm a message from Brianna’s phone was sent to girl X, saying: ” Girl where are you?”. Deanna Heer KC said girl X deleted a chat from her Snapchat account seconds later.
She told the jury it was at about that time that the killing must have occurred.
A 999 call was made by Kathryn Vize at 3.13pm, reporting that somebody had been attacked and she had seen the attackers run away.
Esther Ghey, mother of the murdered teenager, arrives at court— (Reuters)
The court heard Brianna was pronounced dead at 4.02pm and a post-mortem examination found her cause of death was multiple stab wounds.
Deanna Heer KC said: “The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife.”
She told the court that bottles of soft drinks were found at the scene with DNA from girl X and boy Y on them, indicating they had been present. Brianna’s mobile phone was found hidden in a drain by police, while the two defendants separated and went home.
They continued to exchange messages, in which girl X asked boy Y if he was concerned about being caught, before reassuring him: “You’re not going to get caught don’t worry. Police are sh**e here.”
The following day, girl X messaged Brianna to say: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park it’s on news everywhere.
“And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***** up.”
Ms Heer said: “The prosecution say that was an obvious attempt by girl X to set up a sort of false defence, were anybody to look at her phone in due course.”
Girl X then posted a tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, describing her as an “amazing friend” and that it was “so f****** sickening” what had happened.
Ms Heer added: “Meanwhile, boy Y, his internet history shows, was online using the Crown Prosecution Service website, looking at Data Protection Act offences and penalties for supplying or withholding information.
“He was looking up information about measures to support people giving evidence and bail.
Girl X later informed the police that she had been with Brianna in the park, but that she had met with a 17-year-old boy in his car, before messaging boy Y to say: “Make sure story adds up.”
When police searched boy Y’s bedroom, they discovered trainers and a jacket with bloodstains that matched Brianna’s DNA, as well as the knife used in the attack. During his interview, boy Y said he was “only joking” in messages about murdering another boy and spoke about killing Brianna because he hated feeling left out from friends.
Both defendants accept being present when Brianna was killed while boy Y accepts taking a hunting knife, yet both deny inflicting any injuries and participating in the killing.
“Each blames the other,” Ms Heer said. “The prosecution case is that whoever it was who delivered the fatal blow or blows, both defendants are equally guilty. Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill Brianna Ghey.”
The trial continues.
