Boy thought co-accused would blame him for Brianna murder, jury hears

Brianna Ghey was found dead at Culcheth Linear Park after being stabbed 28 times

A boy accused of the "frenzied" stabbing of teenager Brianna Ghey with a hunting knife said he thought his co-accused would blame him for the murder.

Brianna, 16, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times in Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington, Cheshire, in February.

Two teenagers, identified only as girl X and boy Y, deny murder and blame each other for Brianna's death.

The pair are now 16, but were 15 at the time of the attack.

On the 14th day of the trial, boy Y continued to give evidence by typing on a keyboard, sitting behind a desk in a side room of the courtroom, with his answers spoken by an intermediary and watched by the jury in the courtroom by videolink.

They had previously been told boy Y had "gradually stopped speaking" and had been diagnosed with selective mutism, as well as autism spectrum disorder.

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Boy Y admitted lying to police after his arrest by claiming he had never taken his hunting knife out with him.

But police later found it in his bedroom with his DNA on the handle and Brianna's blood on the blade, as well as the boy's clothes and trainers.

He told the court girl X had asked him to bring the knife when they met Brianna and he handed it over to her before she suddenly began to stab the 16-year-old while his back was turned.

Boy Y told the jury he got blood on his hands after going to check on Brianna, who was bleeding, "everywhere", adding girl X then handed the weapon back, which he took home after they ran away from the scene.

Girl X claims boy Y carried out the stabbing while her back was turned.

The pair are alleged to have drafted a "kill list" of other children they planned to harm

Prosecutors alleged both of them had a fascination for violence, torture and murder and had planned the killing for weeks.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, asked boy Y if he was worried his accused might betray him, or "tell on" him for "killing Brianna with her".

Boy Y said he did not, and told the court: "It was girl X who did that, so I thought she might blame me, not betray me in the way you said."

He then denied he had stabbed Brianna.

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Earlier jurors heard girl X enjoyed watching internet torture and killing material from the "dark web" and had an interest in serial killers.

Both defendants had discussed a "kill list" of other children to harm and a "murder plan" on how to kill Brianna, it was alleged.

Girl X has said this was just a "dark fantasy" and boy Y said he never thought any of it was serious so he went along with her as she was "always talking about murder and nothing happens".

Ms Heer asked boy Y: "Having seen girl X stab Brianna, were you frightened at all?"

Boy Y said: "I do not know what the feeling of fear feels like physically."

Ms Heer asked: "Is the truth you took your knife to Culcheth in order to stab Brianna?"

"No," boy Y replied.

The boy claims his co-accused stabbed Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park when his back was turned

He denied any animosity towards Brianna because she was transgender, despite referring to her as an "it" and using derogatory names.

Ms Heer asked: "Did you think that Brianna was somehow less important than you? Did you think that because she was transgender you were entitled to hurt her?"

"No," the boy replied.

The trial was adjourned until Friday.