Two teens were convicted in a U.K. courtroom today for the “frenzied and ferocious” murder of trans teen Brianna Ghey earlier this year, according to the BBC and other media.
Because of their ages, the accused are called Boy Y and Girl X in public. The two teens are now 16 but were 15 at the time of the murder. The pair pleaded not guilty and blamed each other for the crime.
The jury took only four hours to find Boy Y and Girl X guilty of killing Ghey, who was 16, in a meticulously planned stabbing attack that took place in Linear Park in Culcheth around 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 11.
Image: twitter/X @SEUIIST
The pair fantasized about killing a classmate in hundreds of private messages and handwritten documents and made a list of potential victims from amongst their acquaintances before settling on Ghey.
The two teens used the pretense of doing cocaine to lure Ghey to the park, where they reportedly used the codeword “gay” to launch the frenzied and deadly attack on the unsuspecting trans teen.
Ghey was still alive when discovered by two dogwalkers, but she died minutes later at the scene. An autopsy later found 28 stab wounds primarily to her head, neck, and back, and defensive wounds to her hands and wrists. The attack was so violent it fractured Ghey's ribs and wrist bones.
Boy Y appeared soft-spoken and quiet throughout the trial. He spoke so quietly and with his head down during interviews with police following his arrest that the audio portion of the video was enhanced for jurors.
He appeared highly intelligent in his written messages with Girl X.
Girl X reportedly had a boyfriend and did not appear to have a romantic relationship with Boy Y, but the pair communicated constantly about their shared interests, according to the prosecution.
The prosecutor, Deanna Heer, asked jurors to avoid considering who specifically stabbed Ghey, but instead hold both teens equally responsible for the crime. Blood from Ghey was found on the shoes and coat of Boy Y but not on Girly X, suggesting it was Boy Y who stabbed Ghey while Girl X watched. However, the KC presented voluminous messages and handwritten notes showing Girl X as the instigating force in the murder.
Heer presented messages from one conversation where they discussed potential victims before deciding to murder Ghey.
“If we can’t get [Boy E] tomorrow we can kill Brianna,” Girl X messaged Boy Y in January.
“Yeah, it’ll be easier and I want to see if it will scream like a man or a girl,” Boy Y replied in a reference to Ghey. Boy Y repeatedly misgendered Ghey as “it” throughout his communications with Girl X.
After luring Ghey to meet the following day with the promise of getting high on cocaine together, Heer said Girl X plotted the details of the murder with Boy Y.
“I want to stab her at least once even if she’s dead, jus coz its fun, lol,” Girl X messaged Boy Y.
After Ghey canceled at the last minute, Girl X discussed other possible means of murder such as an overdose of cocaine, before ultimately rejecting them.
“Let’s just stab her,” she messaged. “It’s more fun.”
Heer said Girl X again used the prospect of getting high on cocaine to lure Ghey to her murder in February, going so far as to create a fake social media profile for a non-existent drug dealer to fool Ghey.
Ghey was suspicious of Girl X in a text to a friend and messaged her mother that she was “on the bus by myself” and “scared.”
Once at the park, Ghey, Girl X, and Boy Y were observed walking to a secluded section of the park. The three teens struck multiple witnesses as an odd grouping, with Ghey stylishly but inadequately dressed for the cold afternoon while Girl X and Boy Y wore Goth-style clothing.
Investigators believe the stabbing took place around 3 p.m. The pair had planned to hide Ghey’s body in the brush, but fled the park when they were interrupted by the dog walkers.
Boy Y has selective mutism and autism spectrum disorder, while Girl X reportedly has ADHD and exhibits some traits of autism, the court heard. "Jurors were told these diagnoses could affect the way the children spoke or reacted to questioning," the Guardian reports.
Following the verdict, prosecutors said the messages between Boy Y and Girl X were instrumental in their ultimate conviction at trial.
“This actually gave us detailed knowledge and insight into the relationship of the two defendants, what they talked about, the dark fantasies, and the content of those messages were chilling,” Ursula Doyle, deputy chief crown prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service, was quoted by the BBC following the verdict. “It also gave us the evidence to actually see how the whole event had unfolded from the planning right the way through to luring Brianna to the park on that date. In fact, the way the attack was carried out was exactly the way it had been planned.”
Ghey’s mother told the BBC her daughter was brave for embracing her identity.
“She was fearless to be whoever she wanted to be," she said.
The two teens will be sentenced next month.
