The following contains descriptions of extreme violence and transphobia.
The trial of two teenagers accused of murdering Brianna Ghey officially began on Monday, November 27, nine months after the 16-year-old transgender girl was stabbed to death in Culcheth, England.
Ghey’s violent death has sparked international tributes and an outcry within the U.K., due to the nature of the attack and the young age of both Ghey and her alleged killers. Evidence presented in court has painted a harrowing picture of the two anonymous defendants, with prosecutors alleging the two 15–year–olds (who are now 16) planned Ghey’s murder for months and frequently demeaned her in text conversations using slurs and transphobic language.
As the closed trial continues, Them will update this page with what we know so far about Ghey, the circumstances of her death, and the trial of her accused murderers.
Who was Brianna Ghey?
Brianna Ghey was a 16-year-old student at Birchwood Community High School in Warrington, England. She had endured years of violent bullying at school after coming out as trans, but was still remembered by her family as “strong, fearless, and one of a kind” in a statement released after her death. Ghey was active on TikTok, where she made videos for tens of thousands of followers and developed strong friendships with other trans girls in the U.K. and abroad. One of her friends, Channah, told Vice that Ghey helped other trans youth access hormones and medical care (no easy task in the U.K., where official waitlists for gender-affirming care can stretch up to seven years).
“Brianna was one of the most open people I’ve ever met,” Channah said, adding, “I’m just so angry and sad. The sweetest 16-year-old girl who was a beacon of positivity, now gone.”
How did Brianna Ghey die?
On the afternoon of February 11, 2023, Ghey was stabbed 28 times on a path in Culcheth Linear Park, a few miles from her Birchwood home. Two people out walking their dogs found her body and called for emergency services, but Ghey was pronounced dead at 4:02 p.m. In a court proceeding days after Ghey’s death, prosecutor Leanne Gallagher called her murder “extremely brutal and punishing,” but officials did not confirm that the killing was a hate crime.
Who is accused of killing Brianna Ghey and why?
On February 12, police arrested two 15-year-old suspects, referred to anonymously in official court documents as Girl X and Boy Y due to their age. Following the official start of their joint trial on November 27, prosecutors said X and Y had known each other since they were 11 and trusted one another deeply. In a long-running chain of text messages, prosecutors allege, Ghey was one of five potential victims the two minors discussed killing by other methods. According to excerpts from the messages published by The Guardian, the two frequently talked about X’s love for dark web torture videos and developed an unsuccessful plan to kill another classmate — who they called a “nonce,” or pedophile — by luring him to the same park and hanging him. An attempt to kill Ghey on January 28 had also allegedly failed after Ghey canceled plans to meet at the last minute.
What did X and Y say about Brianna Ghey?
According to texts entered into evidence, X and Y talked about Ghey in objectifying and dehumanizing ways using various slurs for trans women, speculated about her genitals, and frequently called her “it.” The plot allegedly began in December 2022, when X told Y that she was “obsessed” with Ghey; Y suggested X’s obsession was because Ghey was “unnatural.” In January, X shared her fantasies of killing Ghey with pills and making her death look like a suicide. Prosecutors allege X may have caused Ghey to accidentally overdose on ibuprofen prior to February 11, while Ghey believed her symptoms to be due to appendicitis.