The two teenagers found guilty of the “ frenzied and ferocious “ murder of trans schoolgirl Brianna Ghey will be named when they are sentenced in February.
The killers, who are now 16 but were 15 at the time of the murder, were identified only as Girl X and Boy Y because of their age during reporting of the trial at Manchester crown court which ended on Wednesday.
Trial judge Mrs Justice Yip yesterday ruled that the reporting restrictions will be lifted when the two are sentenced on February 2.
She made the ruling after representations by media outlets which were supported by Brianna’s family.
Lawyers for both defendants, currently held in secure youth accommodation, opposed the media application, citing the possible ramifications on their welfare and consequences for their families, including death threats.
Girl X from Birchwood, Warrington and Boy Y from Leigh, Lancashire face a mandatory life sentence but the judge has to decide the minimum term they will serve before being eligible for parole.
Mrs Justice Yip said in her ruling yesterday:” The murder of Brianna was a shocking event. Brianna was only 16 years old at the date of her death. She was transgender and had a significant social media profile.
“Her killing attracted immediate interest and vigils were held for her at locations throughout the United Kingdom. As details of her murder emerged, the shock and the public interest increased.
“Brianna was murdered in a particularly brutal way. The two defendants are themselves children who were aged just 15 at the time of the offence. Messages passing between them point to a significant degree of planning.
“Understandably, there has been widespread reporting of this case both in this country and abroad. Full and accurate reporting of the proceedings serves an important purpose in assisting public understanding.
“The shock generated by Brianna’s murder and the circumstances of it has spread well beyond the local community, across the nation and indeed internationally.
“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.”
The judge said she had to balance the public interest in the case with the effect of naming the killers on their own families. She pointed out that both would be 18 in two years time and their identities could no long be protected in law.
She said that Brianna’s own mother Esther had spoken “ eloquently and movingly” after the verdicts and had called for empathy and compassion for the parents of her daughter’s murderers.
The judge added:”That showed remarkable fortitude and humanity. Those who have seen the defendants’ parents in court over the last few weeks will recognise their suffering.
“Anyone who is tempted to direct vitriol or malice towards the defendants’ families would do well to recognise that they would be acting against the express wishes of Brianna’s bereaved mother.
“They might also question the part they are playing in society in the context of a case in which dark thoughts and hateful messages became enacted in real life.”
Police said after the trial that the two teenagers were “ warped individuals with a thirst for killing “ who may have struck again if they had not been caught.
The trial had heard that the pair had lured Brianna to Culceth Linear Park in Warrington in February where the transgender high school pupil was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife bought by Boy Y for £13.50.
The blood-stained body of Brianna, who was born male but lived as a female, was found minutes after the stabbing by a couple walking their dogs. Brianna had suffered unsurvivable injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The killers blamed each other for wielding the knife but both were convicted of murder on Wednesday in the fourth week of the trial.
The court had heard that both were “preoccupied with torture, death and violence “ and Girl X had written a “murder plan” setting out the details of Brianna’s murder.
