Throughout the legal processes, the two 16-year-olds had only been referred to as girl X and boy Y. However, following their conviction in December, the judge decided that there was a significant public interest in removing those limitations.
The two 16-year-olds have only been referred to as boy Y and girl X during the court hearings due to a court order that forbids their identification because, legally speaking, they are still considered juveniles.
However, Mrs. Justice Yip, the judge, determined that there was a significant public interest in removing those limitations following the pair’s conviction in December. They could receive life sentences, she added.
On a Saturday afternoon in February of last year, Brianna was fatally stabbed with a hunting knife after a “sustained and violent assault” in a park in Culcheth, close to Warrington.
Her killers were said to have had a “thirst for killing” and a fixation with murder, torture, and violence during the trial. They had been exchanging texts about murdering people and a meticulous plan to kill Brianna for weeks.
Together with Brianna, the two had compiled a list of four other teenagers to be killed. During their trial and during their police interview, they both admitted to killing the other.
Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, stated after their conviction: “It will haunt me forever to know how scared my normally fearless child must have been when she was alone in the park with someone she called her friend.”
“I am glad that they will
spend many years in prison and away from society.”
Brianna was “funny, witty and fearless” and had incredible talent, according to her.