Teenagers who murdered Brianna Ghey to be named

Brianna Ghey died after being repeatedly stabbed in Culcheth Linear Park

A judge will lift anonymity orders protecting the identities of Brianna Ghey's killers next year.

The 16-year-old, who was transgender, was stabbed 28 times in a "ferocious" attack in a park in Cheshire.

Two teenagers, both now aged 16, were found guilty of her murder on Wednesday following an 18-day trial.

Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip said they could be named when the sentencing hearing takes place on 2 February at Manchester Crown Court.

Lawyers for the two teenagers opposed the media application to lift the restrictions, citing the possible ramifications on their welfare.

They also raised concerns over the consequences for their families, including death threats received by girl X's family.

But Mrs Justice Yip said there was "a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case".

She added that she believed "the appropriate balance can be achieved by directing that the order may be lifted but placing a [delay] upon it until the date of sentencing".

"The shock generated by Brianna's murder and the circumstances of it has spread well beyond the local community, across the nation and indeed internationally," she said.

"The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful.

"Continuing restrictions inhibits full and informed debate and restricts the full reporting of the case."

Brianna was lured to Culcheth Linear Park before being murdered

She accepted naming the two teenagers would "cause distress to their families" but the purpose of the order was not to protect family members of those convicted.

"Brianna's mother, Esther Ghey, expressly called for empathy and compassion to be extended to the parents of the defendants," she said.

"That showed remarkable fortitude and humanity. Those who have seen the defendants' parents in court over the last few weeks will recognise their suffering.

"Anyone who is tempted to direct vitriol or malice towards the defendants' families would do well to recognise that they would be acting against the express wishes of Brianna's bereaved mother."

Children appearing in youth or crown courts in England and Wales, whether as a victim, witness or defendant, generally cannot be identified if they are under the age of 18.

Anyone who names the teenagers before the sentencing hearing could be prosecuted for contempt of court.

Warning: Some readers might find the following report distressing

During the trial, the media was prohibited from publishing any details that would identify the two teenagers, who were referred to as girl X and boy Y.

The court heard the pair were intelligent, "high functioning" and came from normal backgrounds, but had a "thirst for killing" and a fascination with violence and torture.

The pair, who were 15 at the time of the killing, planned the murder for weeks before killing Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington on the afternoon of 11 February.

A handwritten "murder plan" of how to carry out the killing was found in girl X's bedroom following her arrest.

The handwritten murder plan was found in the bedroom of girl X

The pair also drew up a "kill list" of five children, before settling on Brianna as their target.

On the day of her death, Brianna was lured to the park by girl X before being attacked with a hunting knife in broad daylight, suffering stab wounds to her head, neck, chest and back.

The pair had planned to conceal her body in the park but were spotted by a couple walking their dogs and fled the scene.

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Her killers tried to blame each other for the stabbing but were both found guilty of murder by a jury after four hours and 40 mins of deliberations.

Following the verdict, Brianna's mother Esther said the pair had not shown "an ounce of remorse" and she had "lost all sympathy" for them.

"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," she said outside the courthouse.

Her father Peter Spooner said: "My heart bleeds every day for Brianna, and this will never go away - and the amount of guilt I have can sometimes be unbearable.

"But I will ensure her memory lives on in my thoughts and dreams."