Brianna Ghey's killer talked like serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer says psychiatrist

04 February 2024 , 12:57

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Brianna was stabbed 28 times by Jenkinson and Ratcliffe (Image: Cheshire Police / SWNS)

Brianna Ghey's killer Scarlett Jenkinson showed no remorse and "lacked empathy", her psychiatrist has revealed.

The teenage murderer, who was jailed for life with a minimum of 22 years on Friday for the stabbing of Brianna, had confessed to psychiatrist Dr Richard Church before the sentencing that she was the one to carry out the violent attack. Her accomplice Eddie Ratcliffe, also 16, was given a minimum 20 year term on Friday after he too was found guilty of the murder.

Manchester crown court heard disturbing details throughout the course of the 18-day trial about Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, who were previously referred to only as Girl X and Boy Y due to a court order lifted by the judge on Friday. Jenkinson, it's been revealed, had made disturbing notes about serial killers and displayed transphobic attitudes which judge Mrs Justice Yip ruled was a partial motivating factor for the killing of Brianna, who herself was trans.

The evil pair lured Brianna to Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire, in February last year where she was stabbed 28 times to the head, neck and back. Her body was found face down following the "frenzied" attack as Jenkinson and Ratcliffe both calmly walked away and made their way home.

Dr Church, who had built a relationship with Jenkinson over several meetings following her arrest, reflected on the moment she confessed to being the one to stab Brianna, describing her as "very calm" and potentially copying language used by serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probe

Jenkinson displayed no remorse in meetings with her psychiatrist (PA)

Speaking to the Sunday Times, the psychiatrist said Jenkinson confessed that Ratcliffe had stabbed Brianna "three or four times", but that she herself had dealt the final blows. She later changed her story, once again pointing the finger at Ratcliffe, he said.

She also claimed she killed Brianna out of fear of losing her as a friend, wanting to "kill her so she would always be with her", Dr Church said. And despite displaying traits of autism, Dr Church fell short of diagnosing her with the condition. Instead he believes she was a conduct dissocial disorder, meaning she is often dishonest.

As well as Dahmer, whose language Dr Church said he couldn't be sure she was in fact copying or feeling the emotions herself, Jenkinson had developed an obsession with horror films and the likes of Harold Shipman, who murdered an estimated 250 people in his care as a doctor, and US serial killer John Wayne Gacy known as the 'Killer Clown".

American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer (Fox Nation)

Brianna's parents described Jenkinson and Ratcliffe as a "danger to society" in their heartbreaking victim impact statements delivered to the court on Friday. But according to mum Esther Ghey, the hardest part of learning of her daughter's murder was the knowledge that the person who did it was supposed to be her friend.

Ms Ghey said Jenkinson was "someone that we trusted. Someone that I was so happy that [Brianna] had, fearing that my child had been lonely. Not knowing that this person had been planning, to not only cause harm, but to take the life of my precious child."

She continued: "All I can think about is that she would have been scared and I wasn't there for her. She needed me to protect her, Brianna wasn't a fighter and she must have been so terrified. The day of and the days following 11th of February were and always will be the worst days of my life. I felt like someone had killed part of me, like my heart had been ripped out. I have never felt such grief and I would never wish that pain on anyone else."

Twisted killers Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were jailed for 42 years collectively (PA)

It has since emerged that Jenkinson's family has apologised for their daughter's actions, siding with the judge's decision to lift an anonymity order. In a statement, the Jenkinson family said: "All of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family. The last 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett’s actions.

“We agree with the jury's verdict, the judge's sentence and the decision to name the culprits," they told the Warrington Guardian. "Our lives are in turmoil, but our immediate focus is to make sure that we don’t do anything against the wishes of Brianna’s family."

Susie Beever