Boy accused of murdering Brianna Ghey ‘saw co-accused stabbing her’
The teenage boy accused of murdering trans teenager Brianna Ghey told police he saw his co-accused stabbing her, a court heard.
Boy Y and girl X, who cannot be named because of their ages, are both accused of the murder of Brianna, 16, on February 11.
She was found stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington.
Both defendants, now aged 16, were 15 at the time and both deny killing Brianna, blaming each other as being responsible for her death during a trial at Manchester crown court.
The second week of the trial began today, and jurors were shown the video recorded police interviews with the suspects after their arrests, the day after Brianna’s death.
Boy Y said girl X had invited Brianna, who he had never met before, to meet up and go to the park, and suggested an area near a bench.
He said: ‘I turned away to go to the toilet behind a tree. When I turned back around I saw X stabbing Brianna. Brianna was on the floor.’
Boy Y told detectives he saw Brianna curled up on the floor and stood over her was X, who had a knife.
He continued: ‘I went to check if Brianna was alive. I put my hands on her. I got blood all on my hands.’
A detective asked him: ‘Did you see where the blood was coming from?’
‘Everywhere,’ Y replied.
He said girl X stopped stabbing Brianna because she saw another member of the public in the park and she ran away. He followed, with them both then walking away from the park.
Box Y continued: ‘I asked her why she did it. She said Brianna tried to break her and her boyfriend up.’
He said X appeared ‘calm’, but he was ‘shocked and panicked’.
And he told police he did not see the knife and did not know what X did with it afterwards.
But jurors have been told it is now accepted Brianna was killed with a hunting knife belonging to Y, which was found in his bedroom at his home address with Brianna’s blood still on the weapon.
Neither defendant disputes that in the days and weeks before Brianna’s death, they had discussed and made plans to kill her, prosecutors told the court.
The same day Y was interviewed, X was also questioned by detectives.
In her police interview she claimed they were with Brianna at the park and she was ‘very happy’ and ‘really smiley’, but then abruptly ‘stormed off’ to meet a boy, 17, from Manchester who was picking her up in his car.
Girl X was told by police her phone and messages would be analysed by them, but she denied there was anything on the device to do with Brianna’s death.
She then made ‘no comment’ to further questions.
The trial continues.
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