Brianna Ghey murder trial: accused spoke of research on serial killer, court told
A 16-year-old girl accused of murdering the teenager Brianna Ghey spoke about doing research on a serial killer known as the “night stalker”, a court has heard.
The girl, referred to as X to protect her identity, told her co-defendant, a 16-year-old boy known as Y, that she could talk about Richard Ramirez for “like two hours”, a jury heard.
The teenagers deny murdering Brianna, who was transgender, in Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington, on 11 February this year.
On the third day of the trial at Manchester crown court, the jury heard more messages exchanged by the pair prior to Brianna’s killing. The WhatsApp messages interposed plans for killing Brianna and four boys they did not like with Y asking X for advice on how to contact a girl he fancied.
They discussed killing Brianna as a fallback plan in case their plan to kill a boy known as E in Linear Park failed. She would be “easier” to kill, the teenagers agreed, according to the messages.
The jury heard that X claimed to have previously tried to give Brianna an overdose of ibuprofen, and so this would be her second attempt at killing her. Y referred to Brianna as “the prey who got away”.
They dismissed an initial plan to drug her, potentially mixing ibuprofen into a McDonald’s milkshake, before Y said he could bring his knife, saying: “We could slit her throat.”
The girl said she was impatient for the killing, adding: “I just want her to die really badly. I want to see the pure horror on her face.”
The girl then discussed keeping one of Brianna’s “pretty eyes” after the killing, and the boy said he would research “preservation methods”. They debated whether they could give her an overdose of cocaine before deciding it would be too expensive. “Let’s just stab her. It’s more fun,” wrote the girl.
The court heard that on 23 January, a few weeks before the killing, the defendants discussed killing a boy who Y feared was too close to a girl he fancied.
X suggested kidnapping and torturing the boy before killing him. Y replied: “That does sound good but it would be easier to sweep her [his crush] off her feet.”
X claimed she had killed twice before, including a boy called Laydon. The boy replied: “You’re one kill away from being a serial killer.”
The girl then told the boy she had been doing “more and more research into a serial killer called Richard Ramirez. I know a lot. I can talk about him for like two hours, including quotes he’s said and dates of stuff too. AKA the night stalker.”
The girl claimed that her boyfriend had developed “severe mental illness” because she had told him about “things to do with my past”, including the killing of “Laydon”. The boyfriend was “proud” of her, she insisted, but was “now suffering from trauma and PTSD” and “needs to start therapy again”. Y said that was good but “try not to tell anyone else”.
The boy was not present in court on Wednesday but watched proceedings via a video link. Wearing a black shirt and grey tie, he played with what the judge told the jury was a fidget toy as he listened to the evidence, accompanied by a court intermediary.
The girl listened from behind the bulletproof glass of the dock, also holding a fidget toy. “The experts have said that’s something that can help to maintain concentration and manage anxiety,” said Mrs Justice Amanda Yip.
The court also heard evidence from Esther Ghey, Brianna’s mother. She said Brianna was friends with X and that they would sometimes hang around together after school and go to McDonald’s.
Esther described an incident in the week of 23 January in which Brianna was “really sick. She appeared to be in real pain and was screaming and crying for me to help her. She’s never been like that before and never since. This was not long before she was killed.”
The jury heard that this was the same week that X claimed to have given Brianna an overdose of ibuprofen.
When the pair started allegedly planning to kill Brianna in Linear Park, X told Y: “Make sure to wear clothes and shoes you can run in, just in case,” the court heard.
On the night before the killing, the boy was trying to get the girl’s attention on text and messaged the words “Death Kill Murder”. She asked why he was texting her “randomly” and he replied: “I wanted to see what word would summon you.” She replied: “lmao [laughing my arse off]. Fair enough.”
The trial continues.