Brianna Ghey’s mum Esther meets with killer’s mum in ’emotional’ encounter
Brianna Ghey’s mother has said she had a “positive and respectful” meeting with the mother of her daughter’s killer.
Trans school girl Brianna Ghey, 16, was murdered in February 2023 by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, who were 15 years old at the time. Last month, Jenkinson was sentenced to life with a minimum of 22 years and Ratcliffe to life with a minimum of 20 years.
Brianna’s mother, 37-year-old Esther Ghey, has since created a campaign for schools to develop better mental health support and advocating for tighter regulations on social media for under-18s.
She told The Independent that, in an effort to understand how the killing had affected the families of the killers, she had met with Jenkinson’s mother and uncle in Warrington.
“The tragedy last year has affected so many, and changed so many lives,” she said. “We lost our beautiful Brianna, but Scarlett’s family’s lives have been changed forever too.
“I wanted to sit down with Scarlett’s family to find out how the last year had affected them. It was a positive and respectful meeting which allowed us to initially get to know each other.
“They haven’t only lost a child but they have to live with what’s happened for the rest of their lives.”
Esther said that the meeting was “emotional” and that Henkinson’s mother and uncle are “very nice, normal people.” She added that they showed a “great deal of bravery” in agreeing to meet.
The group reportedly met to discuss possibly working together on Esther’s Peace and Mind campaign, which she launched in memory of Brianna.
Her campaign predominantly aims to promote regulations against young people accessing harmful material online, including the “dark web” and “red rooms” which can be used to access violent, illegal, and harmful material.
“[It’s] absolutely shocking that a young person can access the dark web,” Esther said.
Earlier in March, Esther had reportedly met with the prime minister and other MPs to discuss her campaigns and planned to create a Communityy Interest Company (CIC), which led to the founding of Peace and Mind UK.
It has since raised over £85,000 at the time of reporting.
“I’ve been overwhelmed by the support the Peace and Mind campaign has received,” Esther said. “So to continue this legacy for Brianna, I wanted to create a Community Interest Company to continue its good work.”
