A court has been informed that a plan to murder Brianna Ghey was discovered in the bedroom of one of the 16-year-olds accused of her killing.
Brianna, a 16-year-old transgender girl, was found in a park in Culcheth, Cheshire, on February 11 by dog walkers.
According to the court, the accused girl sent a picture of a handwritten note titled “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey” to the other teenager facing charges.
Both teenagers, who were 15 at the time and are identified as girl X from Warrington and boy Y from Leigh, Greater Manchester, deny the murder charges. The trial at Manchester Crown Court previously noted their shared “preoccupation with torture.”
The court heard the paper, found in girl X’s bedroom after her arrest, said: “Meet boy Y at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library … bus stop.
“Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area.
“I say code word to boy Y. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Boy Y drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc.”
Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, said: “It is clearly, the prosecution say, a plan to kill Brianna Ghey.”
On February 10th, girl X arranged a meeting with Brianna and expressed anticipation for the following day after discussing which knife boy Y would bring, as revealed in court.
The jury learned that on February 11th, girl X and boy Y met shortly before 13:00 GMT.
Brianna left her residence, took a bus to Culcheth, and sent her mother a text at 13:41, stating, “I’m on the bus by myself, I’m scared.”
The trio met just before 14:00 and proceeded to the park, according to court testimony.
During their time in the park, there were Snapchat messages exchanged between Brianna and girl X, as disclosed by Ms. Heer.
At 15:06, a message from Brianna’s phone was sent to girl X, inquiring about her whereabouts. Ms. Heer informed the jury that girl X deleted a chat from her Snapchat account moments later.
She indicated that it was around that time when the killing likely occurred.
A 999 call was placed by Kathryn Vize at 15:13, reporting an attack she witnessed, with the attackers fleeing.
The court was informed that Brianna was declared dead at 16:02, and a post-mortem examination identified stab wounds as the cause of death.
Ms Heer said: “The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife.”
She informed the court that soft drink bottles found at the scene contained DNA from the defendants, indicating their presence.
Walking away from the park, they remained together and were observed on dashcam footage on Wigshaw Lane at 15:15.
During the police search of the area, Brianna’s mobile phone was discovered hidden in a drain, as disclosed to the jury.
Subsequently, they separated and returned home, according to Ms. Heer.
The court learned that they stayed updated on press reports about the Linear Park incident while simultaneously “feigning ignorance” about the events.
Additionally, the jury was informed that Boy Y was searching online for methods to address anxiety.
The court heard the two defendants exchanged messages shortly after 23:00 in which girl X asked boy Y: “Do you have anxiety about getting caught?”
When boy Y replied “probably”, girl X responded: “You’re not going to get caught don’t worry.”
The jury was told that the following day girl X messaged Brianna saying: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere.
“And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf.”
Ms Heer said: “The prosecution say that was an obvious attempt by girl X to set up a sort of false defence, were anybody to look at her phone in due course.”
The court heard girl X later messaged boy Y, repeating the story she had told police and telling him: “Make sure story adds up.”
Girl X expressed her admiration for Brianna on Snapchat, praising her as an “amazing friend” and condemning the distressing incident.
On 12 February, both defendants were apprehended at their respective residences, as disclosed in court.
During a search of girl X’s room, the police discovered handwritten notes detailing plans to harm Brianna and another plan involving alcohol, sleeping pills, throat slitting, dismemberment, and disposal of body parts in bin bags. The notes also referenced notorious serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez, and Harold Shipman.
In boy Y’s bedroom, authorities found trainers and a black jacket stained with blood matching Brianna’s DNA. A knife with Brianna’s DNA was also recovered during the search.
In police interviews, girl X initially claimed she left Linear Park to meet a 17-year-old boy from Manchester, while boy Y asserted that girl X was the one who stabbed Brianna. Later, both defendants blamed each other for the crime but denied any direct involvement.
Boy Y explained to the police that his messages about torture were intended as jokes, and his statements about killing Brianna were due to feeling excluded from friends. Both defendants, however, acknowledged being present at Brianna’s death but placed the blame on the other.
The prosecution argued that the evidence indicated the defendants collaborated and encouraged each other, highlighting their joint actions until confronted with undeniable proof, forcing them to turn against each other.
