How did Brianna Ghey die? Motive explored as 2 UK teens sentenced to life in prison over 16-year-old's 'sadistic' murder

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe have been sentenced to life imprisonment for fatally stabbing 16-year-old transgender girl Brianna Ghey in February 2023. The Guardian reported that Jenkinson and Ratcliffe discussed methods of committing Ghey's murder. Jenkinson had even attempted to poison Ghey weeks before murdering her.

Amidst the current case, another incident has surfaced where Jenkinson had drugged another student while she was studying at Culcheth High School.

BBC News initially reported that Birchwood Community High School authorities weren't aware of this incident when she moved to this school.

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However, The Guardian later reported that Emma Mills, the school principal, mentioned that she knew about the incident.

Two teenagers sentenced to life behind bars for fatally stabbing another teenager, Brianna Ghey, last year

For the unversed, Brianna Ghey was brutally stabbed to death by teenagers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe. The victim was stabbed about 28 times in Culcheth Linear Park. BBC News reported a statement given by Mrs. Justice Yip about the case.

According to Yip, while Jenkinson was motivated by a "deep desire to kill," Ratcliffe's motivation was primarily in his hostile approach toward Brianna's gender identity. Yip added:

"Taken together, the injuries point to a very sustained and violent assault. Sadly, Brianna can't have lost consciousness immediately and she must have been aware she was being attacked."

The judge stated that Jenkinson's "fantasy to kill" became a reality the moment she lured Ghey to the park in Cheshire. According to Alisha Ghey, the victim's sister, she was killed by the people she thought were her friends.

Brianna Ghey's dad mentioned that it was quite difficult to deal with a transgender child, but they were working on it and he was proud of her. He added:

"We were forming a new relationship and these two murderers have stolen that from us both."

The two teenagers were reportedly seen fleeing the scene after the brutal stabbing. Eventually, authorities considered them the suspects.

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Jenkinson sent some disturbing messages to Ratcliffe

Brianna Ghey's mother, Esther Ghey, recalled the time when she returned home, only to find that her daughter had fallen sick. As reported by BBC News, Esther said:

"She was just writhing around in agony, holding her stomach, saying that she felt like she was going to die."

During that period, on January 23, 2023, Jenkinson sent some disturbing messages to Ratcliffe on WhatsApp. One of the messages read:

"You know that girl I mentioned, Brianna, I'm still tryna kill her and the easiest way is pill overdose."

In another message to Ratcliffe, she wrote:

"Brianna is still ill. Those tablets I gave her might slowly be killing her."

BBC News reported the perspective of Dr Amanda Holt, a criminologist at the University of Roehampton in London, on the Brianna Ghey murder case.

According to Holt, it is unusual for a child with no prior criminal record to suddenly decide to murder someone. Holt added:

"If you look at the history of children who engage in homicide, there is inevitably a history of increasing violence, and some of that violence might involve previous attempts to commit homicide."

Jenkinson's family has expressed apologies to the victim's family, as mentioned by the BBC News.