Brianna Ghey killer has sentence appeal bid refused

Eddie Ratcliffe was motivated to kill Brianna partly due to her transgender identity, a judge concluded

One of the teenagers who murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey has been refused permission to appeal against the length of his sentence.

Eddie Ratcliffe and Scarlett Jenkinson, then 15, lured Brianna to a park in Warrington, Cheshire, on 11 February 2023 before stabbing her to death in a frenzied attack.

The pair were convicted of her murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year.

Ratcliffe was jailed for life with a minimum prison term of 20 years but his legal team had asked the Court of Appeal in London for a reduction claiming the trial judge failed to take his "immaturity" into account.

Brianna Ghey, pictured with her mum Esther Ghey, believed Scarlett Jenkinson was her friend

The Crown Prosecution Service opposed the appeal bid, arguing that the sentence was "appropriate" and was not "manifestly excessive".

Three senior judges dismissed the bid and concluded that the proposed grounds of appeal were "not arguable."

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Murray, said: "The judge was then entitled to take into account the aggravating factors as identified."

Richard Littler KC, representing Ratcliffe, had told the court the teenager had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and selective mutism.

Mr Littler said Ratcliffe was found to have "poor social skills" and "immaturity", as well as "a lower-than-expected ability to express what he thinks or articulate his ideas", adding that the sentence was "far too high".

He said: "There is no doubt they were taken into account, but they were not taken into account fully."

Scarlett Jenkinson was obsessed with murder and recruited Eddie Ratcliffe for her plan

Deanna Heer KC, for the CPS, said Ratcliffe's attitude towards Brianna was "dehumanising" and the killing involved "sadistic conduct", adding that the sentence was not "manifestly excessive".

"Eddie demonstrated himself throughout to be just as enthusiastic about what they were going to do as Scarlett," she said.

Ratcliffe and Jenkinson had known each other since they were 11 when they both attended Culcheth High School in Warrington.

However, Jenkinson was later transferred to nearby Birchwood High School, where she met Brianna.

Jenkinson was found to have been obsessed with death and violence and had a "deep desire to kill", the judge said.

Police found she had been accessing material related to murder and torture on the dark web and had drawn up a "kill list" which included the names of four other children, before settling on Brianna as a target.

A handwritten note outlining the murder plan was found on Jenkinson's bedroom floor along with notes about serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman.

Jenkinson told Ratcliffe in messages how she wanted to stab Brianna for "fun" and added: "I want to see the pure horror on her face and hear her scream."

'Driving force'

Sentencing judge Mrs Justice Yip said Jenkinson, who was handed a 22 year minimum term, was the "driving force" behind the murder plot but that it would have been "wholly wrong to treat [Ratcliffe] as being under Scarlett's control".

Justice Yip also said Ratcliffe's motivation was in part hostility to Brianna's transgender identity.

On the day of the killing Jenkinson and Ratcliffe arranged to meet Brianna in Linear Park, Culcheth.

Ratcliffe took a hunting knife with him, which the pair used to stab Brianna 28 times.

Both teenagers ran away after being disturbed by a couple walking their dog, and were arrested an hour later.

Brianna had a popular following on social media sites including TikTok but her mother, Esther Ghey, told a coroner's court recently that her daughter had struggled with her mental health.

She said Brianna would at times go for weeks without washing or brushing her teeth, and became totally isolated.

Brianna was diagnosed with an eating disorder and had self-harmed, her inquest opening heard.

Ms Ghey said: "When Brianna was younger, she was a bundle of joy, in later years she was immersed in darkness.

"It sometimes feels like I'm grieving two different people."