One of the two teenagers found guilty today of murdering Brianna Ghey carried with them a Sudoku puzzle book as they heard the verdicts.
Two teenagers who were described as “two very warped individuals” were found guilty today for murdering Brianna Ghey.
The pair, known as Girl X and Boy Y, were 15 at the time of the murder. During the 18-day trial, the jury heard how they were obsessed with violence, torture and death. She was killed in a frenzied attack with a hunting knife after they lured her to a park in the village of Culcheth.
The defendants, now 16, had been friends since the age of 11. They sat next to a social worker each with six security staff surrounding them and filling the dock in Manchester Crown Court today. Neither made any visible reaction as the jury foreman delivered the guilty verdicts. Boy Y’s mother’s head slumped down on to the shoulder of a friend sat beside her in the public gallery and she began crying. Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip told jurors she will not pass sentence this week.
Girl X, wearing a pinafore style dress, spoke to her social worker and glanced at her parents leaving the courtroom. Boy Y, who avoided all eye contact, did not look over at his mother as he was led from the dock carrying his Sudoku puzzles book. She continued sobbing uncontrollably while being hugged by her friend.
She told the jury: “All 12 of you have provided outstanding service. No doubt when you came to court you did not anticipate such an emotionally difficult one as this one.” She excused jurors from serving on a jury again for life before adjourning the court hearing briefly.
Jurors had heard how Brianna had been the victim of a “sustained and violent” assault. She was knifed repeatedly in the head, neck, back and chest and died at the scene after suffering “catastrophic blood loss”. Phone messages sent between the killers revealed their blood lust. Girl X, who was attracted to and obsessed with Brianna, wrote: “I want to stab her at least once even if she's dead jus coz it's fun lol.”
Girl X, who was excluded from school four months before the murder for giving cannabis to another pupil, has traits of autism and ADHD and “high levels of anxiety". Boy Y has been diagnosed with autism along with a “high level of social anxiety”. He also has “selective mutism” and had gradually stopped speaking to anyone apart from his mother after his arrest. During the trial at Manchester Crown Court he responded to questions by typing answers, which were then displayed on a screen. While on remand he passed eight GCSE's and has been self tutoring for A levels in physics, biology, chemistry, pure maths and English literature.
The two had drawn up a list of five people they wanted to kill, including Brianna. Police fear the “intelligent” pair could have gone on to kill again. “If it was not Brianna, it would have been one of the other four children on the list,” Det Supt Mike Evans, head of Cheshire CID, said. Speaking after the verdicts were delivered Det Supt Evans said: “Whether there would have been more, I have no idea but they did not seem bothered by what they had done, which maybe leads to the fact that there could have been, but God knows."
He added: "They are both really intelligent and quite high functioning. I think that has brought a level of arrogance and maybe confidence which has maybe been played out in court.” He criticised the killers for putting Brianna’s parents, Esther Ghey and Peter Spooner, 32, through the ordeal of the trial. Brianna’s mum Esther has started a fundraising campaign in Brianna’s memory, to help teachers provide mental health support for children. The Peace in Mind campaign hopes to send teaching staff based in Warrington on training courses arranged by the Mindfulness in Schools Project.
Today, the judge told the court a sentencing hearing will take place in the new year. Mrs Justice Yip told the two defendants: "I will have to impose a life sentence. What I have to decide is the minimum amount of time you will be required to serve before you might be considered for release. I'm not going to do that this week. I'm going to ask for some reports in relation to each of you."