The two teenagers who brutally murdered 16-year-old Brianna Ghey have been sentenced to life following a hearing at Manchester Crown Court today (2 February).
Transgender teenager Brianna was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back after being lured to the forested park area on 11 February of last year.
Her killers' identities, who were previously referred to as 'Girl X' and 'Boy Y' due to their age, have since been revealed.
The pair previously couldn't be named for legal reasons as they were both 15 at the time of the murder.
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Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, have now been named as the killers of Brianna after Mrs Justice Yip lifted a ban on reporting their identities before they were sentenced for murder at Manchester Crown Court.
During the harrowing trial last year, Jenkinson and Ratcliffe denied carrying out the murder and each blamed the other for the killing of the teenager, which was described as 'horrific' by detectives.
Brianna was 'stabbed and stabbed and stabbed' in a 'frenzied and ferocious' attack in which she suffered 28 stab wounds, 14 to her head and neck and 14 to her chest, back and sides.
The jury - made up of seven men and five women - heard that the killers were intelligent, 'high functioning' and came from normal backgrounds.
Brianna was found by a dog-walker who called 999 after finding her severely injured at 3.13pm, before she was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.02pm.
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The defendants were found to have had a fascination for violence, torture and murder – and a 'thirst for killing'.
Neither Ratcliffe or Jenkinson had been in trouble with police before.
They were discussing Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in Jenkinson’s handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives.
Jurors were told it was 'difficult to fathom' how the two child defendants could carry out such a disturbing crime.
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Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, said: "There’s not many murders where you get from planning to execution almost documented, word for word."
This afternoon Mrs Justice Yip began: "Scarlett and Eddie, you are to be sentenced for murder, you are to be detained at his majesty’s pleasure, which, as you know, is a life sentence.
"Brianna was only 16-years-old. She had her whole life ahead of her. This case is unusual and it has shocked the public."
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She also told the pair she must set the minimum term before Jenkinson and Ratcliffe could be considered for release.
"You will only be released if you can no longer be seen as a danger," she explained before adding: "If you remain a danger you will serve very much longer than the minimum term and may never be released.
"You will only be released if in the future it is decided you no longer present a danger. That decision will be for the Parole Board."
Yip also added that since the killers are 'very young', she hopes they can get over and work through what motivated them to kill Brianna in the first place.
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Jenkinson has been set to a minimum term of 22 years while Ratcliffe has been set a minimum term of 20 years.
They will be detained for at least this amount of time, before the Parole Board decides whether it is safe to release them.
Featured Image Credit: PA