Inside Brianna Ghey murderers' lives – what turned 'ordinary' teens into killers
To the outside world Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe appeared to be two ordinary 15-year-olds.
But behind closed doors the “warped” pair secretly planned and then carried out the savage and sadistic killing of Brianna Ghey. They were convicted of her murder in December but named publicly for the first time today as the judge sentenced them to life and lifted a reporting restriction which had kept their identities under wraps.
Now those who knew them are struggling to comprehend how two fresh-faced school children could commit such a barbaric act. Brianna, 16, was knifed 28 times in a frenzied attack after being lured by her killers to a park in Culcheth, near Warrington, last February.
She was stabbed in the head, neck, back and chest in broad daylight. The murder weapon, a hunting knife with a five inch blade, had been bought for Ratcliffe by his parents during a skiing holiday a few weeks earlier.
Brianna Ghey was murdered on February 11 2023 (Cheshire Police / SWNS)Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were aged 11 when they met at Culcheth High School and became friends despite living in different towns. Police found a notebook in Jenkinson’s bedroom in which she described Ratcliffe as “trustworthy”, “sociopath”, “socially awkward” and added: “Very, very smart. Genius level.”
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Scarlett, who has three older brothers, lived with her parents in their neat, rented, semi-detached home, just a ten minute walk from where Brianna’s body was found. Her mother Emma, 49, is a food, design and technology teacher at a high school.
Eddie Ratcliffe pictured aged 4 (Facebook)
Eddie Ratcliffe pictured at a kickboxing competition in Jamaica in 2018Dad Brian, 51, is a plasterer and also teaches the trade to college students and prison inmates. Manchester crown court heard the family has received death threats because of their daughter’s horrendous crime.
Ratcliffe lived with his parents, Kyle and Alice, both 36, and his elder brother and younger sister, in a semi-detached former council house, five miles away in Leigh, a working class town in Greater Manchester. His dad runs a nearby fitness gym, teaching kick boxing, while mum is a fitness and ski instructor.
Eddie Ratcliffe during his police interview. (PA)
Scarlett Jenkinson in 2013 - aged 5 (Facebook)Eddie was a talented kick boxer as a youngster and in a photo shown to the trial, the then 11 year old was pictured on the podium at the Amateur World Championships held in Jamaica in 2018, where his father also competed. Family photos also show him aged four, with blonde curly hair, smiling as he clutched a Buzz Lightyear ball on his birthday.
Ratcliffe was one of the brightest kids in his high school. He enjoyed science and hoped to study microbiology at university. After his arrest he continued with his exams while in a secure unit, passing eight GCSEs. He is now studying A levels in physics, biology, chemistry, pure maths and English literature.
Scarlett Jenkinson was today sentenced to 22 years for killing Brianna Ghey
Scarlett Jenkinson stabbed Brianna Ghey to death (Facebook)Neighbours this week told of their disbelief after his arrest. One said: “He looked a lot nicer than most of the other lads around here. You would often see him playing basketball in the street with his brother.” Another said: “They are a really quiet family. They did not cause any trouble. Everybody was shocked when they heard what had happened. It just did not seem like the young lad who knocked around here.”
One added: “He was a quiet lad. I would not say he was normal, but then, what is normal?” Scarlett, while not as diligent in her studies as Eddie, was bright and articulate. She was a fan of pop star Ariana Grande and her Instagram page was filled with photos of her family pets.
Scarlett Jenkinson was today named as one of Brianna Ghey's killers for the first time
Eddie Ratcliffe told police "I can explain" as he was arrestedBut she was asked to leave Culcheth High after giving cannabis sweets to another pupil. She transferred to the nearby Birchwood High in the autumn of 2022, where fatefully she met Brianna and became infatuated with the trans teen. Both killers had differing special needs. Ratcliffe, who described himself as “socially inept”, has autism and high levels of social anxiety. The court heard he had been too shy to ask a girl he fancied to go out on a date.
After his arrest he developed “selective mutism” and stopped speaking to almost everyone apart from his mum. During the trial he did Sudoku puzzles in the dock and was allowed to give evidence by typing his answers onto a computer, his words displayed on a large screen.
He was also given a pointer and printed card with numbered options ranging from 1 – ‘I’m feeling fine’, to 5 - ‘I’m feeling poorly’, to let others know how he was. Both killers used fidget or tangle toys, which are known to calm anxiety, a symptom of autism, while sitting in court. Although she had a steady boyfriend, the killers are said to have struggled to make friends and were considered "odd" by some classmates.
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And they bonded over their fascination with violence, torture and death. During lockdown Scarlett delved deeper into that world, watching horror films on repeat in the sanctuary of her bedroom. Her favourite was Sweeney Todd, about the demon barber who slashes his victims’ throats with a knife, telling Ratcliffe she had seen it “9,000 times”.
Scarlett Jenkinson during her police interview (PA)Later she bought a specialist browser which enabled her to access the dark web, where she watched videos of real killings and extreme violence. The jury heard she’d had a fascination with murder and torture since the age of 14 and she told friends she was into satanism and the occult.
In December 2022 she sent Ratcliffe a video for an advert for an underground site for people who like rape, torture and murder. The court heard the pair drew up a ‘kill list’ of five youngsters they wanted to murder, including Brianna. In text messages Jenkinson spoke about keeping body parts, including the teeth and an eye of one person on their list, and said she wanted to taste human flesh.
She searched online for serial killers and handwritten notes about mass murderers, including Jeffrey Dahmner, Richard Ramirez and Harold Shipman, were found in her bedroom. Neighbours in her quiet residential street in Culcheth, an affluent village six miles north of Warrington, find it difficult to understand how the “sweet, kind” little girl they knew became a sadistic killer.
Footage of Jenkinson's arrest has been shared by Cheshire Police (PA)In one photo an angelic five year old Scarlett can be seen sitting on a tiny pony, wearing a pink helmet and pink boots. One neighbour said: “The whole thing is shocking. I watched her grow up, she was just a completely normal girl. They are a very nice family.”
Another said the young girl she knew “was very sweet and kind", adding: “There was never any trouble at school. She played with other children, she had friends.” She said Scarlett "was very shy and anxious” as a child but added "from our perspective she was fine, she was normal.”
After Jenkinson's arrest her family left the area for several months and while they were away, locals tended their garden. One woman said: “The grass was growing so a few of the neighbours got together and did their garden. They weren’t here but we knew they were coming back and we wanted it to be nice for them.”
She added: “They are just an ordinary family. It is not their fault.” But Eddie and Scarlett, described by police as “warped” with “a thirst for killing”, were far from ordinary. And in Culcheth, one woman spoke for many when she said: “For someone to do that, it is not right. And that is what is difficult for people around here, and I’m sure wider. How can you inflict something like that?”
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