Brianna Ghey killer Eddie Ratcliffe to appeal jail sentence

A teenage killer of schoolgirl Brianna Ghey is set to appeal his sentence at the Court of Appeal. Eddie Ratcliffe was just 15 when, along with Scarlett Jenkinson, he murdered Brianna in Culcheth Linear Park, Warrington, on February 11 2023. The 16-year-old was brutally stabbed 28 times after being lured to the park by "sadistic" Jenkinson, who had meticulously planned to carry out the murder alongside Ratcliffe in order to "act out her fantasies".

The pair denied murder, but were found guilty following a trial. Ratcliffe was sentenced to a 20 year minimum jail term, while Jenkinson, who is currently held at Adel Beck Secure Children's Home in Leeds, was given a minimum term of 22 years before parole. She will be transferred to an adult prison when she turns 18. Ratcliffe and Jenkinson, who were both 16 when they were sentenced in February this year, were named following a successful legal challenge by the press.

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Both jail terms were referred to the Attorney General to review under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme, but in April, it was announced that the sentences would not be referred to the Court of Appeal as the minimum terms were deemed acceptable.

However, the Court of Appeal said today that Ratcliffe is set to get a hearing next month. The Judicial Office confirmed to the ECHO that the hearing will take place at the Court of Appeal in London on December 5. It is said to concern "an application for leave to appeal against sentence".

During the 18-day trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year, the jury heard of the twisted duo's fascination with violence and how they had been planning to stage a killing frenzy for weeks. While they tried to mask their obsessive and disturbing natures, their "thirst for killing" was evident in their text exchanges and cross-examinations.

Jenkinson mapped out the 'murder plan' in a handwritten note but they appeared to work together, with Ratcliffe suggesting various poisons and medieval torture weapons they could use on their prey. Both came from 'normal backgrounds' and Ratcliffe, from Leigh, had a keen interest in karate as a child.

Ratcliffe is known to have had a particularly privileged upbringing, with family skiing trips abroad. His murder weapon was a hunting knife bought from a souvenir shop on holiday. Both killers worked hard at school with aspirations of studying at university, and neither had been in trouble with police before. While on remand, Ratcliffe passed eight GCSEs and had been self-tutoring for A levels in physics, biology, chemistry, pure maths and English literature.

However Jenkinson had been excluded from Culcheth High School, where Ratcliffe was a pupil, for supplying cannabis gummies to a younger pupil. When Scarlett joined Birchwood High School, Brianna had the misfortune to cross her path. She had befriended Brianna, who was transgender, finding her "different" and "fascinating". It appears they were aware of their descent into violence, as one labelled the other a "sociopath" while her partner-in-crime said she was "not a normal person" after joking about dead babies.

Their lust to end someone's life didn't start with Brianna, as they had conjured up a hit list, discussing five other potential victims before Jenkinson formed a friendship with Brianna after she complimented her eyeliner. She became fixated with the transgender teen, just like she was with the dark web.

From the age of 14, Jenkinson immersed herself in graphic videos of people being tortured, telling Ratcliffe: "I love watching torture vids. Real ones on the dark web." During the trial, the court heard how the Jenkinson had attempted to give Brianna an overdose of pain relief and that Brianna had indeed been ill, which her mum believed may have been appendicitis.

It was reported at the sentencing that Jenkinson admitted for the first time stabbing Brianna Ghey herself. 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."

An inquest into Brianna's death was held last month at Cheshire Coroners' Court. During the inquest, a statement was read out by Ratcliffe's mum which said her son “seemed happy” shortly after the killing. Alice Hemmings described her son as a “caring boy with good morals” who dreamed of becoming an Oxbridge student.