‘No indication’ that Brianna Ghey’s killer posed danger

One of the killers of teenager Brianna Ghey was self-harming before the murder, but there had been no indication she could be a danger to anyone else, an inquest has heard.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe stabbed the transgender teenager to death at a Warrington park in February 2023.

Both killers were then aged 15, with the attack taking place some months after Jenkinson had given a cannabis-laced sweet to another student at Culcheth High School.

Jenkinson was later moved to Birchwood High School – where Brianna was a pupil – in what is known as a “managed transfer”.

The inquest is examining whether the risk to Brianna could have been foreseen, and whether Birchwood High School was an appropriate place to manage Jenkinson given her past behaviour.

In a statement to the inquest on Friday, Birchwood High deputy safeguarding lead Angela Clark said Jenkinson was described by Culcheth High School as “a good student who had made a mistake”.

She said Birchwood High did not conduct a risk assessment about Jenkinson, who had seemed “quiet and reserved”, because they did not think her behaviour suggested she posed a risk.

Fiona Cowan, head of children’s safeguarding at Warrington Council, said a review of the case had found the managed transfer of Jenkinson from Culcheth to Birchwood had been carried out within Department of Education guidelines but could have been more robust.

It had recommended future school transfers be carried out with a multi-agency approach – rather than just by schools – using information from mental health and other organisations.

The inquest previously heard that, in September 2022 while a pupil at Culcheth High School, Jenkinson had given a sweet containing cannabis to a student, who became ill and was taken to hospital.

Jenkinson was later transferred to Birchwood High, which had not been told that the student who took the sweet was taken to hospital and were not aware that police had been contacted.

Brianna, who was 16, was stabbed several times by Jenkinson and Ratcliffe at Culcheth Linear Park.

The killers are serving minimum sentences of 22 and 20 years respectively after being convicted of murder.

During their trial, the jury heard Jenkinson had become obsessed with Brianna and was also viewing material about torture and murder on the dark web.

The review did not find the consequences for Brianna would have differed if there had been a different approach in Jenkinson’s transfer.

It found that people dealing with Jenkinson did not know she was accessing the dark web, and were unaware of her fascination with violent videos – and so there had been no reason to be concerned about her interactions with Brianna.

The coroner is expected to outline her conclusion to the three-day inquest at Cheshire Coroner’s Court on Friday afternoon.