Brianna Ghey family overwhelmed by support, police say

Brianna Ghey was found injured in Linear Park in Culcheth and died at the scene

The family of Brianna Ghey, who was stabbed to death in a park, have been "overwhelmed" by "support, positivity and compassion" from across the country, police have said.

The 16-year-old transgender girl was found wounded on a path in Linear Park in Culcheth, Cheshire, on Saturday.

A boy and girl, both aged 15, appeared at Liverpool Crown Court earlier charged with her murder.

The pair were further remanded into youth detention.

The boy, from Leigh, and the girl, from Warrington, appeared on separate videolinks and were both accompanied by an adult.

The girl's parents and the boy's mother were in the public gallery for the short hearing.

They are due to return to the same court for a plea hearing on 2 May. The judge set a provisional trial date for 10 July.

Det Ch Insp Adam Waller thanked the Culcheth community for its help in relation to the investigation, adding that detectives had been "inundated with pieces of information".

He said Brianna's family had been "overwhelmed by the messages of support, positivity and the compassion across the country and beyond".

On Wednesday evening hundreds of people attended candlelit vigils in cities including Dublin, Belfast, Manchester, Lancaster and Leeds.

On Wednesday evening hundreds of people attended candlelit vigils across the UK and Ireland

Brianna's family, who are from Birchwood in Warrington, described her as "beautiful, witty and hilarious".

They said she was "strong, fearless and one of a kind" with a "larger-than-life character".

Cheshire Police initially said there was no evidence Brianna's killing was hate-related but on Tuesday detectives said all lines of inquiry were "being explored", including hate crime.

Officers, who had been given extra time to question the two teenagers, later charged them with murder.

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