Who are Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe? The killer teens who plotted gruesome murder of Brianna Ghey
Shocking details emerge as the teens are sentenced
THE two killer teens who plotted the gruesome murder of Brianna Ghey have today been named.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were just 15 years old when they hatched a horrific plan and knifed helpless Brianna 28 times.
The schoolgirl, 16, was lured to Linear Park in Warrington, in February last year by the sadistic pair – who are now both 16.
Brianna, who was transgender, didn’t stand a chance against the “ferocious” attack and was sadly found dead in the park by a dog walker.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe are being sentenced at Manchester Crown Court today.
Here’s what we have learned about the vile pair ahead of their sentencing.
Who is Scarlett Jenkinson?
Jenkinson, whose parents were both teachers, had been expelled from Culceth High School over a drug incident.
She struck up a friendship with Ratcliffe, who had a crush on one of her friends, and the pair began messaging each other.
But their innocent chats soon turned deadly as they became “preoccupied with violence, torture and death”.
Manchester Crown Court was told the pair “encouraged one another to think about how they would actually carry out a killing”.
This culminated in a “kill list” of five people they wanted to murder before eventually settling on tragic Brianna.
Who is Eddie Ratcliffe?
Ratcliffe is the son of a truck company manager dad and ski instructor mum.
He previously competed in the Amateur Associations’ World Kick Boxing Championships in Jamaica in 2018.
The intelligent killer passed eight GCSEs while on remand and has since been studying for A levels in physics, biology, chemistry, maths and English literature.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe have now been named by a judge as the pair are sentenced today for murder.
Previous reporting restrictions meant the killers could only be referred to during their trial as girl X and boy Y.
What happened to Brianna Ghey?
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were both just 15 when they hatched a macabre plot to slaughter 16-year-old Brianna Ghey.
After luring Brianna, who was transgender, to Linear Park in Warrington, they used a hunting knife to stab her in a “ferocious” attack.
Jenkinson had grown “obsessed” with the teen and concocted a plot to kill her using medication.
Just 19 days before Brianna was slaughtered, the girl messaged her accomplice to let him know the grim plan had been put into action.
He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach
Scarlett Jenkinson's note
She said she believed she had given Brianna [painkillers] that “should have been enough to kill her”.
When the schoolgirl fell ill but did not die, the evil pair decided to choose a more gruesome method to murder Brianna.
In a note headed “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey” – the day she was killed – Jenkinson outlined her plans.
The teen wrote: “Meet [Ratcliffe] at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library…bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area.
“I say code word to [Ratcliffe]. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. [Ratcliffe] drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc”.
They originally planned to meet Brianna on January 28 but Ratcliffe said he would not be able to carry out the killing on a “school night”.
Fuelled by her bloodlust, Jenkinson replied: “I don’t want to wait, I just want her to die. I want to see pure horror on her face and hear her scream in pain.”
The boy responded: “Really? All I wanted to see is what size d**k it had.”
In another message, Jenkinson said: “I really want one of its eyes. They have pretty eyes.”
‘SCARED’
She also wrote: “I want to stab her at least once even if she’s dead jus coz its fun lol.”
After deciding on a date, Jenkinson settled in to watch her “favourite” film, Sweeney Todd, for the “9,000th time”.
The following morning, unwitting Brianna left her home to meet her killers in the park.
The schoolgirl was captured on CCTV boarding a bus from nearby Birchwood Station to Culcheth Library.
While on the bus, Brianna messaged her mum Esther Grey to tell her she was on her way to meet Jenkinson and was “scared”.
Esther said that her daughter would often stay in at weekends due to her anxiety.
In response to her venturing out, she had replied: “That’s well good”.
Brianna met her killers at the bus stop before the trio were seen entering an alleyway to the park 2.02pm.
Just over an hour later, Brianna was found covered in blood and lying face down in mud by a dog walker.
Brianna suffered “unsurvivable” injuries, including catastrophic blood loss after she was knifed in the back and chest.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had penetrated Brianna’s throat and lungs with the blade.
‘FAKE’ TEXT MESSAGE
One stab wound reached a depth of 11cm and sliced through the teen’s heart.
Brianna also had “defensive” wounds to her arms and hands where she desperately attempted to fight her attackers off.
The court was told “many” of the stab wounds damaged her bones and would have required “considerable force”.
Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said there was “no doubt she was the victim of a sustained and violent assault”.
Following the murder, Jenkinson hatched a ” false defence” to cover their tracks in case anyone looked at her phone.
She messaged Brianna saying: “Girl, is everything okay? Some teenage girl got killed in Linear Park its on news everywhere.
“And why did you ditch us for some random man from Manchester. Like wtf. That is so f***ed up.”
This mystery 17-year-old boy was simply a fictitious invention of Jenkinson and Ratcliffe’s, with the teen girl telling him: “Make sure story adds up”.
PLAN TO KILL
She also shared a Snapchat tribute to Brianna, saying: “Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met, such an amazing friend.
“It is f***ing sickening what got done to her.”
But her plan unravelled when police found an unopened bottle of Dr Pepper and empty bottle of Coke near the scene that matched the pair’s DNA.
Brianna’s blood was also discovered on a £13.50 hunting knife the boy had bought on a skiing holiday six weeks before the murder.
When officers raided Jenkinson’s home, they found another note with a “plan to kill”.
This one said: “Slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags, bury bags 7 feet underground”.
Police also discovered notes about serial killers, including Jeffrey Dahmer, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman.
It was suggested during the trial Jenkinson had used Ratcliffe as her “hitman” – referring to the boy as a “Tesco John Wick”.
‘IN IT TOGETHER’
Both teens sought to blame each other for the killing and each claimed their backs were turned when the fatal blows were delivered.
But Ms Heer said the evidence showed they were “in it together”.
Tragically, no motive for the murder has been given – with the lead investigator saying both had a “thirst for killing”.
Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, head of crime at Cheshire Police, also previously revealed fears they could have struck again if they were not caught.
Why can Brianna Ghey’s killers be named?
Children appearing in youth or crown courts in England and Wales normally cannot be identified.
This was the case during the trial of Jenkinson and Ratcliffe over Brianna’s murder.
But after they were found guilty Mrs Justice Yip said there was “a strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case”.
She added: “The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful.
“Continuing restrictions inhibits full and informed debate and restricts the full reporting of the case.”