Esther Ghey shares heartfelt message to Brianna on the third anniversary of her murder
Brianna Ghey (left) with her mum Esther Ghey (right). (Esther Ghey)
The mother of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey has shared a heartfelt message on the third anniversary of her daughter’s death.
“Tomorrow marks 3 years without you, Brianna,” her mum, Esther, wrote in a message shared on social media on Tuesday (10 February). “I still think of you every. single. day.”
“I wish I could hug you and hear your voice, even just one more time,” she continued.
“I will continue to work hard in your memory, because I have to do something with the love and energy I will forever hold for you.
“Brianna Ghey, I will make sure your name lives on and you will continue to make a difference, bringing joy, peace and resilience to families for years to come.”
Brianna was just 16 when she was brutally killed by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, in Culceth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire on 11 February 2023.
Following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, the pair were convicted of Brianna’s murder in December 2023.
The pair’s identities were revealed to the public after the anonymity order which protects under-18s in legal cases was lifted, due to the serious nature of their crimes.
They were subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment, with Jenkinson ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years, and Ratcliffe at least 20. Ratcliffe sought to appeal his sentence, but this was was refused in December 2024.
Ghey was stabbed 28 times in back, head and neck in a violent, daytime assault.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe pre-planned the attack on Ghey after having already created a “kill list” of other children they wanted to harm, and in the run up to her murder consumed violent, graphic content online, including fascination with serial killers.
The court heard how the pair would swap violent and dark messages with each other about murder, death torture.
Ratcliffe described Jenkinson as not a “normal” person who would make jokes about “dead babies” and said that she called herself a “Satanist”.
A handwritten murder note, detailing plans to kill Ghey, was discovered in her bedroom by police after she was arrested in relation to the crime.
During the course of the trial, the prosecution also told the court how Ratcliffe referred to Ghey as “it”, rather than use she/her pronouns for the teen, alongside other offensive language which he claimed was a “joke” between himself and Jenkinson.
The court also heard how Jenkinson became “obsessed” with Brianna, and this obsession led her to add the 16-year-old’s name to the kill list.
They both denied the murder charges and instead blamed each other for Ghey’s death.
Following the trial at Manchester Crown Court, a jury of seven men and five women found the pair guilty after deliberating for four hours and 40 minutes.
Following the verdict, Esther Ghey spoke outside court and described her daughter as “larger than life, funny, witty and fearless”, adding their house now felt “empty without her laughter”.
“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 at the time.
Peter Spooner, Brianna’s father, told the press outside court that he knew his child was going to be a “star” and “the amount of support she received from the followers on TikTok proves this”.
“It’s difficult to comprehend how some people can do these vile things in the world and don’t understand how cruel and heartbreaking their actions can be,” he said.
“The impact of Brianna’s death has not just affected me as a father, but also my whole family. My heart bleeds every day for Brianna and this will never go away.”
