A judge in northwest England Friday sentenced two teenagers convicted of killing a transgender teenager to life imprisonment with the option of parole after 20 and 22 years.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both aged 16, were sentenced to 22 and 20 years to life respectively at Manchester Crown Court for killing fellow 16-year-old Brianna Ghey on Feb. 11, 2023, in a park in broad daylight, The Associated Press (AP) reported. They would be transferred to adult prisons upon turning 18 and released on parole after serving their minimum terms only if it was clear they would pose no danger to the public.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time of the murder and previously identified as Girl X and Boy Y, stabbed Ghey with a hunting knife 28 times after luring the victim to the park, according to the report.
A video showing surveillance footage of the convicted pair meeting the victim on the day of the murder appeared in The Telegraph. The video also showed the moments when each convict was arrested during what appeared to be nighttime.
“Brianna’s injuries showed she was killed with exceptional brutality,” Justice Yip said, a court video by The Telegraph showed.
Both convicts had been good friends since 11, Justice Yip said. Jenkinson fantasized about killing people but later really desired to kill and then shared the idea and a kill list with Ratcliffe. Jenkinson previously tried to poison Ghey, her classmate, with ibuprofen tablets. (RELATED: Mayor Kills Himself After Being Outed As Alleged Transgender ‘Curvy Girl’)
“Your motivation, Scarlett, was to act out your fantasies,” Justice Yip said. “You told Eddie that you wanted […] to see the pure horror on Brianna’s face and hear her scream in pain. You suggested you wanted to keep some body parts, like a piece of flesh and an eyeball.”
“You were happy to carry out [Jenkinson’s] plans when you had nothing better to do,” Justice Yip said, referring to Ratcliffe.
“No amount of time spent in prison will be enough for these monsters,” Ghey’s father, Peter Spooner, told the court, the AP reported.
Ghey’s mother, Esther, reportedly told the court the convicts “felt no empathy for Brianna” and killed the victim “just because one hated trans people and the other thought it would be fun.”