A court heard that a 16-year-old girl, who is accused of murdering transgender teen Brianna Ghey in a park in Warrington, denied holding any anti-transgender beliefs and claimed to be attracted to Brianna.
However, the young woman, referred to as X for privacy reasons, testified to the court that her “close friend” and co-accused, a 16-year-old boy known as Y, did not support individuals who identified as transgender or homosexual.
The girl stated that this was the reason the boy often used “it” instead of “she” when talking about Brianna in their WhatsApp conversations leading up to the murder at Culcheth Linear Park on Saturday, February 11th of this year.
During her testimony at Manchester Crown Court on Friday, the girl stated that she had previously struggled with her own sense of gender and would often engage in online communication, assuming the identity of a boy named Nathan.
The prosecuting team alleges that she utilized the persona of Nathan to inform Brianna that he was a drug dealer and planned to sell them cocaine on the day of the homicide.
The 16-year-old girl denies committing murder and points the blame at Y for stabbing Brianna a total of 28 times.
During her trial, she confessed to having thoughts of death and torture and also pretending to want to harm Brianna and other children as part of her fantasies. However, she stated that she never had any actual intention of causing harm to anyone.
When her lawyer, Richard Pratt, KC, asked her questions, the girl admitted to finding pleasure in viewing videos of death and torture on the dark web.
At the age of 14, she expressed a fascination with “dark materials,” as referred to by Pratt, specifically focused on murder, torture, and serial killers.
She stated that she found it intriguing to observe the various personalities and methods used by serial killers.
She confessed to Y that she was responsible for the deaths of two individuals, one of whom was a boy named “Laydon”, but claimed it was only a figment of her imagination.
Girl X explained that she informed Y of her supposed murder of “Laydon” in order to make Y believe she was a serial killer, further adding to their fantasy.
She maintained that Laydon was a legitimate individual who associated with boys she didn’t approve of, and confessed to contacting the authorities in May 2022 alleging that he was harassing her. The court has been informed that the police were unable to locate anyone who fit her description.
According to Girl X, she formed a friendship with Brianna in October. They spent time together because they both preferred not to socialize. When asked if she was attracted to Brianna, Girl X confirmed that she was.
The jury was informed that she informed Y she had a strong interest in Brianna. While testifying with the help of an intermediary, she stated, “I am unsure of why I used that word. Perhaps I struggled to articulate my thoughts. I found her to be quite intriguing.”
When asked about why Y referred to Brianna as “it”, she explained that he did not support the LGBTQ+ community and would use the pronoun “it” instead of “she” for Brianna.
Pratt inquired, “Did you hold anti-transgender views at that point or at any point?” She responded, “No.”
She stated, “I was intrigued by her…we had a great connection.”
According to previous testimony, X allegedly tried to poison Brianna with ibuprofen a few weeks before her death. Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, informed the authorities that Brianna was extremely sick during this time and was believed to have appendicitis.
X refuted the claim of giving Brianna ibuprofen by providing evidence. She stated that she and Brianna had purchased different pills from Asda with the intention of getting high, but she never attempted to secretly harm her. She also mentioned that she had searched online about the possibility of overdosing on ibuprofen due to having suicidal thoughts.
X informed the jury that she used knives to self-harm as a way to cope with her anxiety. She also shared that she had reached out to child and adolescent mental health services for assistance.
She confessed to discussing the murder of a boy named E, whom Boy Y called a “nonce”. She informed the jury that E had been sending messages to an 11-year-old girl, and that she created a fictitious Instagram account with the intention of asking him about his plans with the Year 6 girl.
However, she maintained that she had no intention of causing E’s death.
The court proceedings will continue on Monday.
Source: theguardian.com
