MANCHESTER: Two British teenagers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both aged 16, were sentenced to life detention on Friday for the “sadistic” knife murder of 16-year-old transgender girl Brianna Ghey in Warrington, northwest England.
The shocking crime occurred in February of the previous year and involved a planned and ferocious attack that resulted in Ghey being stabbed 28 times in the head, neck, back, and chest.
During the sentencing at Manchester Court, Judge Amanda Yip described the murder as “brutal and planned” and highlighted its sadistic nature. She emphasized that Jenkinson’s “primary motivation” was a desire to kill, but the attack was also partly motivated by Ghey’s transgender identity.
The judge ordered Jenkinson to serve a minimum of 22 years before being considered for release, while Ratcliffe must serve at least 20 years. Yip cautioned that if the pair remained a danger, they could serve much longer or may never be released.
Court Awards Life Sentences to Murder
The court heard that Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, had discussed killing Ghey in the days leading up to the attack. Jenkinson had displayed disturbing behaviors, including an interest in serial killers, downloading an app for watching torture and murder videos on the dark web, and creating a “kill list” of other youths they intended to harm. Ghey, who had a significant following on TikTok, struggled with depression and rarely left her home.
The sentencing followed a jury conviction in December, where both defendants were found guilty after nearly five hours of deliberations. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had blamed each other during the trial for instigating the stabbing.
Before announcing the sentence, Ghey’s parents delivered emotional witness statements, expressing the profound impact of their daughter’s murder on their lives. Ghey’s father, Peter Spooner, referred to the killers as “pure evil,” emphasizing the vulnerability of his daughter. The victim’s mother, Esther Ghey, described her devastation upon realizing that Brianna had been lured to her death while believing she was meeting a friend.
