Judge Rules Teens Who Killed Brianna Ghey Can Be Named By Media

Brianna Ghey was murdered in February in a premeditated killing. (Screengrab via Sky News/Youtube)

A Manchester Crown Court judge ruled Thursday that the teenage killers of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, who was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in February, can be named by the media.

Judge Mrs Justice Yip ordered that the anonymity orders currently shielding the convicted teenagers, known only as Girl X and Boy Y, will be lifted at sentencing in February 2024. Both 16 now, but 15 at the time of the crime, they were found guilty of murder after a four-week trial. The pair are now facing life imprisonment, a mandatory sentence.

Details of the brutal incident, which emerged during the trial, have sent shockwaves across the nation. Ghey was attacked in Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, as her killers inflicted multiple stabs to her head, neck, chest, and back.

Adding to the horror, the trial revealed that the teenage duo had a macabre fascination with violence, torture, and murder. The court saw evidence in a handwritten murder plan and disturbing phone messages, uncovered by detectives, signifying a premeditated and cold-blooded plot against Ghey. The pair also had a list of five other children they hoped to target.

The unmasking of the teenage killers marks a significant moment in legal and media discourse when it comes to the complexities of juvenile crime.