A 16-year-old girl accused of murdering Brianna Ghey told her co-defendant not to worry about getting caught because the “police are shite here”, a court has heard.
Both were arrested the day after the killing, shortly after the girl’s mother rang Cheshire police to say the teenagers had been with Brianna on the afternoon she was killed, a jury at Manchester crown court was told on Friday.
The girl, who was then 15 and is known as X to protect her identity, had told her mother she was with Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park on 11 February, shortly before she was stabbed 28 times in a “sustained and violent” attack.
X claimed she and her co-defendant, a 16-year-old boy known as Y, had met Brianna and “chilled” in the park before Brianna said she had to go and “meet a lad from Manchester”, the court heard. She said she didn’t know the lad but that he was 17.
Both deny murder and each accuses the other of the stabbing.
On the fifth day of their trial, the jury heard the call made by X’s mother to 101, in which X told the operator that Brianna “stormed off” and that she and Y left the park soon after.
The court heard messages sent between the defendants after the killing in which they shared information about the incident as reported in the press, while “feigning ignorance” about what had happened, the jury has previously heard.
At 5.25pm X sent a message to Y, which said: “My brother just told me not to [go to] linear park coz a woman got stabbed.” Y replied: “Jesus really”. When X then relayed information that police officers were in the park because a woman had been “murdered”, Y replied: “Holy crap”.
Throughout these conversations, Y had been searching online for ways to combat anxiety, according to records of his internet searches read to the jury.
The defendants continued to exchange messages that night. At 11.11pm X asked Y: “Do you have anxiety about getting caught”. Y replied: “Probably”. To which X responded: “You’re not going to get caught don’t worry. Police are shite here.”
The day after the killing, X sent a message to Y telling him that her mum had spoken to the police. She told him: “Make sure story adds up say to police everything we met Brianna at half 1 walked to linear and sat and chilled on the bench … then Brianna looked at her phone and said she was gonna meet some lad and walked off …”
At 6.25pm X posted a tribute to Brianna on Snapchat, while Y was online on the Crown Prosecution Service website looking at Data Protection Act offences and penalties for supplying or withholding information.
Just over an hour later, both were arrested at their homes.
The jury was also played footage of the teenagers’ arrests, recorded on police body-worn cameras. After being cautioned, X said: “Me being a suspect, is it cos I’m the last person to have seen her..?” Y told the arresting officers: “I can explain.”
The trial continues.
