Brianna Ghey’s killers sentencing LIVE: Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe show no emotion as pair are jailed for 22 and 20 years

For the murder of Brianna Ghey, Scarlett Jenkinson was sentenced to life with a minimum of 22 years.

Eddie Ratcliffe was also sentenced to life with a minium of 20 years.

Judge Mrs Justice Yip says these terms are ‘lengthy for offenders of your age, albeit significantly less than an equivalent sentence for an adult’.

The judge says ‘plain this was murder of particularly high seriousness’ and the part both teenagers played ‘leads to the starting point of 20 years’.

But some of the ‘many serious features’ of the case ‘overlap’ and will not separately make the minimum term more serious.

Justice Yip continues to say she will keep in mind their young age.

Speaking to Jenkinson, she says: You have some vulnerabilities. Since you were about 14 you have had problems with mood, anxierty self harm and anorexia.

‘Reports before the trial suggested you had traits of autism and ADHD. Dr Church no longer thinks that applies. You have changed your accounts during the trial, you have admitted taking part in Brianna’s murder.

‘You have lied so many times Scarlett, it is impossible to know what is true and what is not.

‘You have expressed the desire to kill again. If those thoughts continue, you will not be released.

‘You have shown no remorse.’

The judge continues to say Jenkinson abused Brianna’s trust. ‘She thought you were her friend,’ she says.

‘Eddie you knew Scarlett was preying on Brianna this way,’ she continues.

She told Jenkinson: ‘The messages reveal show your fantasies and sadistic motives.

‘You enjoyed the killing, this was a murder involving sadistic conduct.’

Turning to Eddie, she said: ‘Although your motives weren’t the same, you knew what she wanted to do and why.

‘You understood her desire to see her suffer. And you actively participated in this sadistic murder.’

‘I find that you were motivated in part by your distaste at Brianna’s status as transgender,’ she adds.

She says to Ratcliffe he was not involved in Jenkinson’s first attempt to kill Brianna with tablets.

But Ratcliffe suggested other ways to kill her when that did not work.

The judge continues: ‘Brianna’s injuries show she was killed with exceptional brutality.

She says he ‘did not show the same interest in killing as Scarlett did’.

But she said he supported Jenkinson’s fantasies.

‘You were happy to help when you had nothing better to do,’ she adds.

‘You didn’t know Brianna, you knew only what Scarlett told you. Your messages about Brianna were transphobic. You consistently referred to her in a way that was dehumanising. when discussing killing Brianna you agreed she would be the easiest victim.’

Speaking to Ratcliffe, she said: ‘I acknowledge you were not the driving plan to kill Brianna, Scarlett was.’

‘You suggested scarlett’s motive related to her boyfriend, this was part of your attempt to distance yourself from the killing.’

‘I cannot be sure precisely who did what, but that does not matter for today’s purposes,’ Yip says.

‘But I am satisfied that both of you played a part in killing Brianna’, she adds.

‘You, Scarlett and Eddie were friends since the age of 11… Scarlett you knew Brianna from school, you got her to meet you in Linear Park – she could not possibly have known you were a danger to her.

‘I don’t want to dwell on the murder itself but it was brutal,’ she adds, saying Brianna suffered 28 stab wounds and ‘wounds to the arms show she tried to defend herself’.

She adds: ‘You scarlett introduced the idea of killing people. At first it was fantasy but turned into something real.

‘You did like brianna you were drawn to her. You thought she was different and interesting. You tried to poison her.

‘You made a plan to kill a boy in linear park … but he didn’t respond to messages. You knew she was vulnerable and needed friendship – you abused that.’

Mrs Justice Yip began sentencing the defendants, addressing both, saying: ‘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.

‘I must also set a minimum term before you can be considered for release.

‘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.

‘Brianna was only 16-years-old. She had her whole life ahead of her.

‘This case is unusual and it has shocked the public.’

The judge, Mrs Justice Yip, has arrived in court and is due to deliver sentencing remarks now.

She had hoped to begin at 2.15pm, but the killers have been made to wait.

Heartbreaking TikToks posted by Brianna Ghey have been shared today – as her killers face sentencing.

The tragic schoolgirl had a large following on the social media app. In videos, she would be seen singing, dancing and enjoying nature.

As the court waits for the judge to begin sentencing, Jenkinson can be seen drawing an eye in the dock.

The court has reconvened but the judge has not returned yet.

Follow our live updates to see what sentences Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe are handed.

If you are just joining us, here is a look back at some of the key points so far.

• Brianna Ghey’s murderers have been revealed as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe
• The teen killers can be named from today after the judge lifted a legal order due to the ‘exceptional’ nature of the case
• Ratcliffe was seen in court doing a Sudoku as a harrowing 999 call from the dog walker who found Brianna’s body was played
• Brianna’s father said his ‘life has been torn apart’. Her mother said ‘no parent should have to bury their child’.
• The prosecution said there is evidence the murder was part motivated by Brianna being transgender, but the defence say it is ‘immaterial’ in the case
• Cheshire police has released mugshots of the pair as well as footage of them being arrested, interviewed, and meeting up with Brianna before they killed her
• The pair will be sentenced to life orders with minimum terms from 2.15pm

The shocking case of a 16-year-old girl being murdered by two torture-obsessed teenagers has sparked outrage.

A reminder that you can listen to The Mail’s The Trial podcast to hear all the details about this sickening case.

The court is still currently adjourned, but we understand that sentencing will begin from 2.15pm.

The judge will impose life sentences on both killers but must decide the minimum term they will serve.

We will bring you the latest updates here on MailOnline.

Judge Mrs Yustice Yip (pictured) has said that it ‘may take longer than in an ordinary case’.

Brianna’s father Peter Spooner has said that his daughter’s ‘evil’ killers will ‘always be monsters to me’.

Speaking to Sky News, he also quesitoned why ‘red flags were not raised over Jenksinson and Ratcliffe.

‘I just don’t know how there were no signs of – especially for me the girl, she was disturbing even more than the other one,’ he said.

‘Some of the stuff she was saying in the messages, the websites she was going on it’s just shocking. A 15-year-old, 16-year-old is like that and it’s scary.

‘But how there were no red flags with her, I just don’t understand.’

Scarlett Jenkinson had revealed more details of the planning to a psychiatrist after her conviction saying she had planned to ‘get rid of the body’ by dragging Brianna Ghey into a pipe ‘big enough to fit a person in’.

Richard Littler KC, defending Eddie Ratcliffe, said told the court she had said: ‘I was meant to get rid of the body. I was going to drag her into the pipe. Before I even got a chance to drag the body someone was coming up the path.

‘I was going to put her in the pipe. I saw it before, it’s big enough to fit a person in.’

He said the case was not simply a joint enterprise murder and added: ‘We submit Eddie’s sentence should be significantly less than that of his co-defendant.’

The court adjourned to 2.15pm, when Mrs Justice Yip is due to pass sentence.

Richard Littler KC, in mitigation for Ratcliffe, denied his ‘disparaging’ language about Brianna meant the murder was motivated by transphobia.

He said: ‘The fact that Brianna was trans is immaterial. This is nothing to do with gender at all. Finding a few offensive comments made by an autistic adolescent does not satisfy the court to a criminal standard, of effectively a hate-crime, motivation. They were juvenile and immature.’

Mr Littler citing the psychiatric report on Jenkinson, said the ‘box is well and truly ticked’ for her on whether the crime had an element of sadism.

Mr Littler cited what Jenkinson had told the psychiatrist about the stabbing.

He said: ‘It made her feel excited and that excitement made her stab more times. She liked having complete power over someone and enjoyed the power she had over someone weaker like Brianna.

‘She was thrilled by thoughts of violence, she was sometimes sexually aroused by it. She had increasing interest in violence, torture, murder, weapons, serial killers, fuelled and re-enforce by documentaries and dark web materials on these subjects.’

In mitigation, Ratfliffe’s lawyer said that Jenkinson showed ‘no emotion in police interviews.’

‘This was her behaviour after the killing. We say that Eddie didn’t behave in this way after the killing,’ Richard Littler KC said.

He also said that Jenkinson sent messages to Brianna knowing that she was dead.

The defence argue that Ratcliffe’s behaviour ‘stands in contrast’ to Jenkinson’s. They say he ‘made web searches including, “how to stop worrying”.’

He also said Jenkinson ‘had thoughts of violence, serial killers, torture and weapons’.

Richard Pratt KC, defending Jenkinson, said: ‘It’s unusual but not unique for me to address the court after conviction on behalf of a defendant who has subsequently admitted her guilt.’

He said she had given two different accounts to a psychiatrist and a social worker of what happened. He added: ‘Our instructions would now be it was Eddie who was responsible for the stabbing.’

He said when he asked the teenager why she had told people she had stabbed Brianna, Jenkinson said because she ‘felt responsible and she accepted she wanted herself to do the stabbing’.

He added: ‘She continues to accept, horrifying and gruesome as they are, some of those other features of the case as to her motive and what she intended to do, but for the intervention of dog walkers.’

Mrs Justice Yip said: ‘There is so much evidence of untruths in the case of Scarlett that it is impossible to believe anything she says.’

She said she had the impression that, having been convicted, Jenkinson wanted to paint herself in as bad a light as possible, which would seem ‘completely extraordinary’ but for the evidence of her ‘admiration of notorious killers’.

Ratcliffe is now being held at Barton Moss, the secure youth accommodation unit in Salford, where his apparent ‘arrogance’ has not endeared him to everyone, sources said.

He has complained about the food, moaning about fruit not being fresh enough for him.

And after one day’s harrowing evidence in court during the trial last December he returned to his accommodation, breezed into his bedroom and quickly changed into his ‘Christmas jumper’, eager to participate in that night’s festive activities planned for the boys on the unit, sources said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘First and foremost, the Prime Minister’s thoughts are with Brianna’s family, friends and loved ones.

‘Obviously the hurt that they feel is unimaginable and the Prime Minister shares in the country’s horror at this despicable and cowardly murder.’

The spokesman praised the ‘courage and dignity’ of the teenager’s mother.

Asked about the decision to name her killers, he said: ‘It’s obviously an independent judicial decision.

‘As the judge has said herself, this is clearly a shocking and exceptional case.’

Pictured below is Brianna making a final bus journey to Culcheth before she was killed at the park

At 5pm this evening, The Mail will publish a documentary about the shocking murder of Brianna Ghey on our YouTube channel.

It comes after her two killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, were revealed this morning.

Later today, we will also know how long they will be jailed for.

You can watch a trailer for our documentary below:

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe have been friends since the age of 11 and went to Culcheth High School.

But Jenkinson was sent to Birchwood Community High School, where Brianna was a student, after being expelled for trying to ‘poison’ a fellow pupil with cannabis sweets.

Brianna and Jenkinson first met in the includision room at Birchwood, where the victim was taught.

‘We weren’t really aware in terms of a friendship as such but the fact that they knew each other, there must’ve been some sort of friendship there, and it just makes it even more horrific,’ headteacher Emma Mills.

‘It’s hard to believe that anybody would do this to somebody, never mind a child to another child, and especially somebody that it appears Brianna trusted.’

As jurors heard the grim details of Brianna Ghey’s ‘frenzied’ stabbing, the accused sat in the dock doing puzzles in a Sudoku magazine on his knee.

Head down, pen in hand, Eddie Ratcliffe displayed not a flicker as the 999 call played, ruled too distressing to be made public, jurors hearing the breathless words of the horrified dog walker who first came across Brianna’s lifeless body.

Eddie Ratcliffe was a ‘role model’ kick-boxer who had loving parents.

And Scarlett Jenkinson had a perfect start in life.

What led them to carry out the horrific murder of Brianna Ghey?

Read our two Mail+ exclusives on the teenage killers below.

The condition Jenkinson has been diagnosed with entails ‘limited pro-social emotions’ and represents ‘impending’ antisocial behaviour disorder, but does not constitute a mental illness, the proseuctor said.

Ratcliffe’s diagnosis with a ‘mild’ form of autism – made ahead of the trial – still stands, the prosecutor added.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, is now outlining factors the judge, Mrs Justice Yip, must take into account in deciding the minimum term the defendants should serve in custody.

Ms Heer said the law says that if the judge decides the murder is committed in whole or part by motivation because of hostility to Brianna because of her trans status or if the murder involved sadistic conduct, then the minimum term would be higher.

She said that even given Jenkinson’s age and immaturity and a ‘kill list’ of other potential victims, none of whom were trans, there is evidence of the murder being motivated by hostility because Brianna was trans.

In Ratcliffe’s case she said he used ‘disparaging terms’ about Brianna, showing his ‘transphobic attitude’.

Mrs Justice Yip said ‘there’s evidence of transphobic comment and there’s evidence of sadism’ but questioned whether it met the threshold, in law, to be an aggravating factor.

Ms Heer, speaking of Jenkinson’s admissions to her psychiatrist, added: ‘She did enjoy the feeling of stabbing, feeling of power.’

Scarlett Jenkinson has written another ‘kill list’ since being locked up at a secure unit following the murder, the court heard, naming some of the people responsible for caring for her.

Experts have concluded that she does not – as previously diagnosed – suffer from ADHD or traits of autism, but instead a form of ‘conduct dissocial disorder’.

This was all evidence that ‘she knew that what she was doing was wrong’, prosecutor Deanna Heer KC said.

Jenkinson is pictured being arrested for the murder of Brianna Ghey

Away from court, we can exclusively bring you the shocking news that Scarlett Jenkinson had tried to poison a fellow pupil at a previous school.

THE MAIL’S ELIZABETH HAIGH AND LIZ HULL:

Scarlett Jenkinson was moved to Brianna Ghey’s school after being expelled from another comprehensive for trying to ‘poison’ a fellow pupil with cannabis sweets, MailOnline can reveal today.

Until her arrest on February 12 for the murder of Brianna, Jenkinson seemed to be an ordinary teenage girl.

The then-15-year-old was seen by neighbours as quiet and somewhat anxious, born to ‘hard-working’ parents – a tradesman father and a mother who worked in education.

But behind the façade lay obsessions with torture and murder, dark fantasies and expert knowledge on serial killers – knowledge Jenkinson would draw on to build up her own ‘kill list’ of other children and ultimately plot Brianna’s death.

The teenager had already been expelled from ‘several’ schools by the time she joined Birchwood Community High in Warrington, Cheshire.

And today, as Jenkinson is revealed as Girl X, it can be revealed that she was most recently expelled for attempting to poison a fellow pupil with cannabis ‘gummies’ which made them ill.

READ MORE HERE:

As we approach sentencing, Justice Yip has confirmed that she will set a minimum term.

The judge has said that it will be lower than it would be if the crimes had been committed by adults.

The prosecution states that the starting point for a minimum term for defendants aged 15 to 16 is either 17 or 20 years depending on the crime.

A lot has happened in the last hour, including mainly the lifting of an order preventing Brianna Ghey’s two murderer being named.

The two serial killer-obsessed teenagers have today been unmasked as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe as they face life imprisonment at their sentencing hearing.

We have also heard the victim impact statements from Brianna’s family – and sentencing is next.

You can read our main story here, which contains everything you need to know about the shocking trial.

The killer, who has been publicly named for the first time today, was sat in the dock doing puzzles from a Sudoku on his knee while shocking details of Brianna’s murder were read out.

Ratcliffe is pictured being interviewed by police below

DAILY MAIL’S JAMES TOZER REPORTS:

This is the chilling moment that unsuspecting schoolgirl Brianna Ghey was met off her bus by her ‘warped’ killers as they lured her to her death.

The ‘socially anxious’ 16-year-old had been persuaded to make the short journey to Culcheth by 15-year-old Scarlett Jenkinson, who until today could only be referred to as Girl X.

Barely an hour after being caught on CCTV being met by Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, also 15 – previously referred to as Boy Y – she would be stabbed 28 times in a ‘frenzied’ attack.

The footage was today released as the duo – who were both convicted of murder despite blaming each other for the killing – are unmasked ahead of their sentencing later today.

Mrs Justice Yip has returned and is being addressed by the prosecution counsel over the sentencing guidelines for this horrific crime.

Cheshire police have also released footage of the moment Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were arrested.

Jenkinson can be heard telling cops: ‘How come I’m a suspect?’

She asks whether it’s because she was the last person who had seen her.

Ratcliffe, meanwhile, is seen on his knees as he is hancuffed by police.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court the 16-year-old had been seen by a psychiatrist after she was convicted of murder last December and made ‘admissions’.

Ms Heer said: ‘She said effectively, she said that at the time of the killing she had in fact administered stab wounds herself.

‘She had snatched the knife from Eddie’s hand and stabbed Brianna repeatedly.

‘She said Eddie had thrown Brianna to the floor and stabbed her three or four times then he panicked and said he did not want to kill her, so she carried on and stabbed her a number of times.

‘When asked how many, she answered, ‘A lot.’ She was satisfied and excited by what she was doing.’

Cheshire Constabulary have released footage of the two teenage killers being interviewed by police about the shocking murder.

You can watch it below:

Following the victim impact statements and the lifting of the court order, there will be a short break ahead of sentencing.

In the meantime, will now bring you some of the footage which Cheshire Police have released, including the moment the killers were arrested.

The court has also heard a statement from Brianna’s sister, Alisha Ghey, which has been read out by prosecutor Deanna Heer KC.

‘The night we were told that we’d lost Brianna has overpowered the memories I had of her,’ Alisha said.

‘Brianna was always at home and I didn’t know that she’d left that day – I find being in my own home uncomfortable and lonely.’

The statement adds: ‘I now feel anxious, and struggle to trust new people that I meet because it was Brianna’s friend who she trusted who ended her life.

‘No-one can ever make me feel better. The only thing that would is hearing her voice and laughter, and I must carry that pain for the rest of my life.’

‘The good memories hurt so much because she’s not there to share them with me,’ the statement from Esther Ghey continued.

‘Instead, to add to that, I have memories of identifying her body, memories of her funeral, memories of the trial – where the two people who murdered her cowardly tried to blame each other.

She added: ‘It’s so quiet without Brianna. Her sister Alisha can’t bear it. She’s lost confidence and has quit college, and I worry that the trauma that she’s experienced could impact the rest of her life.

‘I believe that Scarlett and Eddie will always pose a danger to society. I would never want them to have the opportunity to carry out their sadistic fantasies on another child. They have also ruined their own lives.’

The victim impact statement continues: ‘I’ve never felt such grief and I would never wish it on anyone else.

‘Our home was so quiet with Brianna gone. I’d put my ear against my bedroom wall to try and hear her chatting on FaceTime with friends in her room next door, but there was only silence.

‘Brianna wasn’t a fighter – she must have been so scared.’

She adds: ‘No parent should have to bury their child.’

Esther Ghey’s statement, read out on her behalf by prosecutor Dianna Heer KC, said: ‘As Brianna’s mother, I was constantly worried she was putting herself in risky situations, although in this case no one could have predicted it was dangerous.

Finding out one of the people charged with her daughter’s murder ‘was someone we thought was her friend… not knowing that this person had been planning [to cause her harm]’.

‘I tried to protect her, and I failed by allowing her to meet Scarlett on that afternoon.’

She adds: ‘I was pleased to get a text from Brianna saying she was going to meet her friend that afternoon – it was a big breakthrough for her – she was anxious.

‘I thought she’s having a great time hanging out in the fresh air with her friends.’

Brianna is pictured below

Mr Spooner continued: ‘The impact of Brianna’s death has been on our whole family.’

He has told the court that he has been signed off from work and he will ‘never come to terms with the loss of my daughter’.

‘Every day, something reminds me of Brianna and what she went through on that day,’ he says.

‘I wish I wasn’t standing here reading this statement today, but if I wasn’t it would have been another father standing here… and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.’

Brianna’s father Peter Spooner said: ‘As Brianna’s father, it’s impossible to put into words the murder of my child.

‘I am accused of dead-naming her [calling someone who is transgender by their birth name] but most of my memories are with my son Brett – he was my baby, my only son, and his decision to transition was such a brave thing to do.

‘I gained a daughter,” Spooner continues. ‘We were forming a new relationship and these two murderers stole it from us both.

‘She’s been deprived of the life she wanted to live,’ he adds. ‘My life has been torn apart.

‘No amount of time in prison will be enough for these monsters.’

• Eddie Ratcliffe was a top set student at Culcheth High School and treated as a ‘role model’ at the time of the murder, preparing to sit nine GCSEs and aspiring to go to university to study microbiology.
• His mother is an award-winning graphic designer who created a mural for the NHS celebrating organ donation before launching herself as a wellness guru.
• Jenkinson picked the location for the killing as she regularly walked the family’s pet dog in the park, just a few minutes from their house – Ratcliffe had never been there before.
• By accessing the ‘dark web’ through her phone to search for images of real-life killings and torture, Jenkinson became desensitised murder and probably ‘damaged her psyche’, experts have told the Mail.
• Social media also propelled and accelerated the killers’ fantasies, leading to the brutal murder of Brianna in a relatively short period of time – just a few weeks after she came on their radar, they said.
• According to a leading criminologist, the killers’ relationship was a classic ‘folie a deux’ – a shared madness or delusion typically found in couples who kill – comparable to Moor Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley , but unusually with them not being girlfriend and boyfriend.

He is also a former champion kickboxer

• Scarlett Jenkinson was raised in a loving, supportive home by her mother, who taught home economics and design technology at a Catholic secondary school, and plasterer father.
• By the time she was 12 it was ‘common knowledge’ at Culcheth High School that she had a ‘kill list’ of children who had taken a dislike to, trying to recruit other pupils to take part in ‘blood rituals’.
• Jenkinson was expelled from the school – in the village where they would murder Brianna just weeks later – for trying to ‘poison’ a fellow pupil with cannabis sweets in October 2022.
• She was moved to Birchwood High School and placed in the ‘inclusion unit’ where Brianna was taught because of her struggles with anxiety, becoming ‘obsessed’ with her by December 2022.
• An independent child safeguarding review into Brianna’s murder is examining Jenkinson’s interaction with key agencies, including the police, social services and schools.

Police have released these mugshots of Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.

After the judge lifted the anonymity order, we can now bring you the first pictures of Scarlett Jenkinson (top) and Eddie Ratcliffe (bottom).

The two torture-obsessed teenagers who savagely murdered Brianna Ghey can now be unmasked as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.

Judge Mrs Justice Yip lifted the anonymity order which had previously stopped the two 16-year-olds being named.

Jenkinson had been known only as Girl X and Ratcliffe had been referred to as Boy Y.

The judge told Manchester Crown Court: ‘The defendants can be named.’

She previously said there was ‘strong public interest in the full and unrestricted reporting of what is plainly an exceptional case’.

The teenage murderers have entered the dock.

Girl X is wearing a black cardigan over a dress.

Boy Y is wearing dark trousers, a dark shirt and tie. He is also holding a puzzle book.

The judge has come into court and proceedings are underway.

Follow our live coverage as the sentences are announced and the killers are unmasked.

Peter Spooner (pictured first), Brianna’s father, has arrived at court for sentencing.

Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey (pictured second), is also here to see her daughter’s two killers sentenced and named to the public.

We are just a few minutes away from proceedings starting at Manchester Crown Court.

The trial has heard how the two teenage killers denied murder and blamed each other.

Boy Y claimed that Brianna and Girl X were sat on a bench while he was ‘admiring the trees’.

He said he went to the toilet behind a tree before he heard a ‘puncturing’ noise and saw Girl X stabbing Brianna.

But Girl X claimed the three students had stopped by a bench and that she had got bored and walked away.

She claimed she heard a screaming noise and saw Boy Y stabbing Brianna.

Both were found guilty of murder in December and will be sentenced shortly.

Floral tributes left for Brianna last Debruary are pictured below

As mentioned earlier, proceedings are set to start at Manchester Crown Court at 10.30am, meaning sentencing is imminent.

Judge Mrs Justice Yip is expected to lift reporting restrictions so that Brianna Ghey’s teenage killers can be made public. It is not clear exactly when this anonymity order will be lifted.

The prosecution and defence will make legal submissions before victim impact statements are heard.

The two defendants, 15 at the time of the murders but 16 now, will then be sentenced. They will face life, but the minimum sentences will be set by the judge today.

Brianna is pictured below

More than 30 years since her own child, James Bulger, was murdered by child killers Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, Denise Fergus has said it is right for the judge to lift the anonymity of Brianna Ghey’s murderers.

‘I do think they should be identified,’ she told ITV News.

‘What is the point in telling half a story? Because that’s what it’d be like.

‘People want to know more, what’s happened and want know why.

‘You want to know what these people look like, who took this innocent child’s life away and destroyed an entire family.’

Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey (wearing the blue scarf) and other relatives have arrived at Manchester Crown Court to witness the sentencing of the two killers.

Detectives identified the two teenage suspects within 24 hours of the murder of Brianna Ghey.

The trial has heard how they formulated a plan to create a subtle cover story after the killing.

Girl X messaged Boy X to say ‘a woman got stabbed’ in the park. Boy Y replied: ‘Holy crap.’

The next day, Girl X texted 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.’

Girl X also posted a tribute on Snapchat, sharing an image of Brianna eating a chocolate bar.

It was captioned: ‘Rest in peace. Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met and such an amazing friend, its so f****** sickening what got done to her.’

As we get nearer to Girl X and Boy Y being named for the horrific murder of Brianna Ghey, we can look at some other shocking cases that have involved child murderers.

Anonymity orders can be lifted if it is considered to be in the public interest.

Jon Venables and Robert Thompson, both aged 10, were unmasked after being convicted of abducting, torturing and murdering two-year-old James Bulger in Merseyside in 1993.

However in 2001, shortly after they turned 18, the High Court made an injunction preventing the media from publishing their new identities, effectively granting them lifelong anonymity.

More recently, schoolboy Will Cornick was named after he stabbed to death teacher Ann Maguire, 61, as she taught a class at Corpus Christi Catholic College, Leeds, in 2014 when he was just 15.

Other examples include 15-year-old Leighton Amies, who stabbed 14-year-old Tomasz Oleszak to death in a Gateshead nature park in 2022, and 14-year-old Craig Mulligan who murdered his five-year-old step-brother Logan Mwangi.

Pictured below are child killers Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right)

In late November, chilling doorbell footage showed Brianna leaving her home just hours before she was stabbed to death.

Brianna, dressed in a large white hoodie, a skirt, knee-high socks and glasses, is seen leaving her home and walking off into the distance for the final time.

Doorbell footage shows her shutting her front door whilst texting on her phone. She then walks through a wooden gate, shuts it behind her and strides off.

A dog walker found her bloodied body face-down in Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, just after 3.10pm and saw a boy and girl running away, the trial previously heard.

You can watch the footage below:

Throughout the shocking case, The Mail has been covering Brianna’s murder on The Trial podcast.

In our most recent episode, Liz Hull and Caroline Ceetham discuss why trial judge, Mrs Justice Yip, has decided to lift reporting restrictions and allow Girl X and Boy X to be named by the media today.

They also chat to barrister Chloe Ashley about previous cases involving child defendants and what the judge will have considered before allowing their identities to be made public for the first time.

The 16-year-old killers face life sentences at Manchester Crown Court (pictured below) today.

The televised court proceedings will begin at 10.30am and we will bring you all the latest updates here.

Although the killers are being sentenced today, they were found guilty of murder on December 20.

The teenagers had blamed each other for the shocking murder but were convicted at Manchester Crown Court.

At the time, Brianna’s mother Esther Ghey said the pair had not shown ‘an ounce of remorse’ and she had ‘lost all sympathy’ for them.

‘To know how scared my usually fearless child must have been when she was alone in that park with someone that she called her friend will haunt me forever,’ she said.

The two teenagers, who are set to be unmasked today, showed no emotion from the dock.

The guilty verdicts were delivered after four hours and 40 minutes of deliberations.

Brianna’s mother Esther is pictured below delivering a statement after the guilty verdict at Manchester Crown Court

The two defendants, who were 15 when they brutally murdered Brianna, have been known only as girl X and boy Y.

This is because they remain as juveniles in the eyes of the law.

However, following their December conviction, Judge Mrs Justice Yip ruled there was a strong public interest in lifting the restrictions.

This followed representations on behalf of the media which were made by the PA news agency and ITV. Brianna’s family supported the media application.

Lawyers for both defendants opposed the media application, citing the possible ramifications on their welfare and consequences for their families, including death threats received by girl Y’s family.

Mrs Justice Yip lifted the banning order but imposed a stay on the order, until the defendants are sentenced today, when they can then be publicly named.

The killers face mandatory life sentences.

Pictured below is senior judge Mrs Justice Yip who on December 21 ruled an order banning identification should be lifted

If you are unfamiliar with the case, Brianna Ghey was a 16-year-old transgender schoolgirl who was horifically murdered in Culcheth near Warrington on the afternoon of February 11 last year.

Brianna was stabbed 28 times in the head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park.

The trial has heard how the murderers had a ‘thirst for killing’ and were fascinated with violence and torture.

They had discussed Brianna’s murder for weeks, detailed in a 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.

The killers, who blamed each other for Brianna’s murder, had also drawn up a kill list of four other teenagers.

Brianna is pictured below

Welcome to MailOnline’s live coverage as the killers responsible for murdering 16-year-old Brianna Ghey are sentenced today.

The murderers, also both 16, have only been referred to as girl X and boy Y because of a court order protecting their identification due to their age.

The pair were convicted in December and will be unmasked and sentenced in court today.

Brianna is pictured below