Killers Unmasked: Brianna Ghey Murderers Named as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe

A High Court Judge has today lifted restrictions that prevent the naming of the murderers of Brianna Ghey.

Scarlett Jenkinson, 16, of Warrington, Cheshire, and Eddie Ratcliffe, 16, of Leigh, Greater Manchester lured Brianna to her death at Linear Park, Culcheth, on Saturday, 11th February 2023.

The evil duo - who have shown not one iota of remorse for their cold, calculated and frenzied killing of Brianna - were convicted of her murder following a three week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

So overwhelming was the weight of prosecution evidence that it took the jury of eight men and five women only 4 hours and 40 minutes to reach their unanimous verdicts in respect of each defendant.

Mrs Justice Yip, who presided over the trial, made an excepting direction under section 45(3) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (read more about this legislation), which allows the killers to be named.

But for the Judge's decision, the identities of the murderous teens would have remained a secret, at least in terms of publication, until their eighteenth birthdays.

Having considered the gravity of their crimes and the wider public interest, the Judge has concluded that the public have a greater right to know their identities than they have to hide beneath a cloak of anonymity.

With the killers' identities already well known, particularly in the Cheshire and Greater Manchester areas, there was also little point in maintaining reporting restrictions that were largely unenforceable. Their names are a hot topic of conversation within the local community and have published on social media and foreign websites since the day of their arrest, back in February 2023.

It was also well known that Scarlett Jenkinson had attended Birchwood Community High School with Brianna.

Mrs Justice Yip is currently sentencing the pair. I shall write further once their sentences are confirmed.