Serial killer-obsessed teens who knifed trans girl Brianna Ghey to death after luring her to park are GUILTY of murder

TWO teens with a “thirst for killing” who knifed Brianna Ghey to death after hatching a macabre plot have been found guilty of murder.

Brianna was stabbed 28 times in Linear Park in Warrington by a girl known as X and boy known as Y.

Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death in a parkCredit: PA

The knife used to murder BriannaCredit: Cheshire Police

A girl killer had written a note detailing the murderCredit: PA

Brianna’s mum Esther pays tribute to her daughter outside court todayCredit: PA

The 16-year-old transgender schoolgirl had been lured to the park by the teens, who were both 15 at the time of the bloodbath.

There were gasps in the courtroom today as both X and Y were unanimously convicted of murder in just over four hours of jury deliberation.

The teens, whose parents wept as the verdict was delivered, were warned they face life in prison when they are sentenced on a date yet to be set.

Speaking outside court today, Brianna’s mum Esther said she had lost all sympathy for her daughter’s killers and is glad they will spend “many years in prison and away from society”.

The mum also spoke of her torment, adding: “To know how scared my usually fearless child must have been when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever.”

During a harrowing trial, jurors heard how the young killers had exchanged chilling text messages leading up to Brianna’s death.

At first these were innocent as Y gushed about his crush on X’s pal A but soon turned sinister as the teens became “preoccupied with violence, torture and death”.

Manchester Crown Court was told the pair “encouraged one another to think about how they would actually carry out a killing”.

This culminated in a “kill list” of five people they wanted to murder before eventually settling on tragic Brianna.

X had grown “obsessed” with the teen and concocted a plot to kill her using medication.

Just 19 days before Brianna was slaughtered, the girl messaged her accomplice to let him know the grim plan had been put into action.

She said she believed she had given Brianna [painkillers] that “should have been enough to kill her”.

When the schoolgirl fell ill but did not die, the evil pair decided to choose a more gruesome method to murder Brianna.

In a note headed “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey” – the day she was killed – X outlined her plans.

The teen wrote: “Meet Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library…bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area.

“I say code word to Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc”.

They originally planned to meet Brianna on January 28 but Y said he would not be able to carry out the killing on a “school night”.

Fuelled by her bloodlust, X replied: “I don’t want to wait, I just want her to die. I want to see pure horror on her face and hear her scream in pain.”

The boy responded: “Really? All I wanted to see is what size d**k it had.”

In another message, girl X said: ” I really want one of its eyes. They have pretty eyes.”

She also wrote: “I want to stab her at least once even if she’s dead jus coz its fun lol.”

After deciding on a date, X settled in to watch her “favourite” film, Sweeney Todd, for the “9,000th time”.

The following morning, unwitting Brianna left her home to meet her killers in the park.

Her mum Esther Ghey said her daughter, who would often stay in at weekends due to her anxiety, had messaged to say she was meeting X and was on the bus.

Brianna had added: “I’m scared”.

Shortly after sending the text, she was discovered covered in blood and lying face down in mud by a couple who were out walking their dogs.

Brianna suffered “unsurvivable” injuries, including catastrophic blood loss after she was knifed in the back and chest.

X and Y had penetrated Brianna’s throat and lungs with the blade.

One stab wound reached a depth of 11cm and sliced through the teen’s heart.

Brianna also had “defensive” wounds to her arms and hands where she desperately attempted to fight her attackers off.

The court was told “many” of the stab wounds damaged Brianna’s bones and would have required “considerable force”.

Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said there was “no doubt she was the victim of a sustained and violent assault”.

She added: “The prosecution case is that, whoever delivered the fatal blows, both defendants are equally guilty. Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill her.”

Following the murder, X hatched a ” false defence” to cover their tracks in case anyone looked at her phone.

She messaged Brianna saying: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere.

“And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***ed up.”

This mystery 17-year-old boy was simply a fictitious invention of X and Y’s, with the teen girl telling him: “Make sure story adds up”.

She also shared a Snapchat tribute to Brianna, saying: “Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met, such an amazing friend.

“It is f***ing sickening what got done to her.”

Timeline of terror – how Brianna’s killing unfolded

2022

November

– The two teenagers discussed killing a child referred to in court as boy M.

December 5

– Girl X sends boy Y a video which was apparently an advert for an underground site for people who like rape, snuff, torture and murder.

December 15

– Girl X messages boy Y, telling him she is “obsessed over someone” called Brianna but did not have feelings for them.

2023

January 1

– Boy Y sends girl X a photograph of a hunting knife and tells her: “Spent my money. I bought a knife.”

January 23

– Girl X messages boy Y, telling him she gave Brianna so many tablets it “should have been enough to kill her”.

January 26

– The two teenagers compile a list of at least four people, as well as Brianna, they wanted to kill.

February 3

– Girl X sends boy Y a picture of a handwritten note of their plan of how to kill Brianna, titled “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey”.

February 11

1.41pm – Brianna sends her mother a message saying: “I’m on the bus by myself, I’m scared.”

1.53pm – Brianna meets girl X and boy Y at a bus stop in Culcheth.

2.30pm – Brianna messages a friend, describing girl X as “weird”.

3.06pm – Brianna sends a message to girl X saying “Girl where are you”.

3.13pm – Brianna is found lifeless by dog walkers Kathryn and Andrew Vize.

4.02pm – Brianna is declared dead at the scene.

February 12

– Girl X and boy Y are arrested at their homes.

February 15

Police find Brianna’s phone in a drain, stained with her blood in an area girl X and boy Y were seen walking shortly after the murder.

But her plan unravelled when police found an unopened bottle of Dr Pepper and empty bottle of Coke near the scene that matched X and Y’s DNA.

Brianna’s blood was also discovered on a £13.50 hunting knife the boy had bought on a skiing holiday six weeks before the murder.

When officers raided X’s home, they found another note with a “plan to kill”.

This one said: “Slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags, bury bags 7 feet underground”.

Police also discovered notes about serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman.

It was suggested during the trial X had used Y as her “hitman” – referring to the boy as a “Tesco John Wick”.

Both teens sought to blame each other for the killing and each claimed their backs were turned when the fatal blows were delivered.

But Ms Heer said the evidence showed they were “in it together”.

Tragically, no motive for the murder has been given – with the lead investigator saying both had a “thirst for killing”.

Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, said: “I’m not sure fun is the word, but I think they killed her because they wanted to prove that they could, or that sort of thirst for killing.

“I don’t think there was any motive behind it so possibly, fun? Enjoyment is the right word.”

The officer also revealed fears they could have struck again if they were not caught.

He said: “They did not seem particularly bothered by what they had done which maybe leads to the fact that there could have been, but God knows.”

‘I knew something would happen’ – Brianna’s mum reveals her heartache

Brianna’s mum Esther Ghey has revealed how she knew something would happen to her anxious daughter when she left the house on February 11.

I sort of joked and said that if Brianna doesn’t come home soon I’ll probably have to ring the police,” she told the BBC.

“I got to the front door and the front door was open and it was two policemen stood in the house.

“And they said that they’d found a body and I remember the first thing that I said to him was that I knew, I knew, that something was going to happen.”

Speaking outside court today, the mum told how Brianna’s killers have not shown “an ounce of remorse”.

She added: “Prior to the trial I had moments where I felt sorry for the defendants because they had ruined their own lives as well as ours.

“But now, knowing the true nature and seeing neither display an ounce of remorse for what they have done to Brianna, I have lost all sympathy that I may have previously had for them.

“And I am glad that they will spend many years in prison and away from society.”

Paying tribute, she also called Brianna “funny, witty and fearless” as she revealed how her daughter was “larger than life”.

Esther continued: “We miss Brianna so much and our house feels empty without her laughter.

“To know how scared my usually fearless child must have been when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever.”

Brave Esther is now focusing her grief into something positive as she launches a “mindfulness” campaign.

The mum has already raised tens of thousands to teach compassion and empathy in schools in the hope of avoiding what happened to her daughter.

She has already started delivering assemblies in schools in the North West.

Esther told ITV News: “The crime that was inflicted on Brianna is not a one off. Senseless acts of violence are happening far too often.

“I believe to prevent this from reoccurring we need to weave empathy, compassion, and resilience throughout our society.”

While Deputy chief crown prosecutor Ursula Doyle, of CPS Mersey-Cheshire, said: “This has been one of the most distressing cases I have ever dealt with. The planning, the violence and the age of the killers is beyond belief. Brianna Ghey was subjected to a frenzied and ferocious attack and was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight, in a public park.

“Girl X and Boy Y appear to have been a deadly influence on each other and turned their dark fantasies about murder into a reality. The extensive messages between the two, planning and plotting to kill people, talking of murder, torture and cruelty, were difficult to read.

“The messages provided a terrifying insight into the minds of the two defendants – but also revealed the detailed planning of their attack and subsequent attempts to cover it up. The case posed a unique set of challenges for prosecutors, not least of the defendants’ young age and their additional vulnerabilities.

“To ensure a fair trial and deliver a sound conviction, the CPS worked with all parties – including the police, courts and defence team – to make sure facilities such as video links, a transcribing service and communications specialists were in place.

“I want to thank Brianna’s family for the courage and dignity that they have shown throughout this case. I hope today’s verdict brings some solace, and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.”

The teens were remanded into custody to be sentenced at a later date.