Jury shown messages between defendants in Brianna Ghey death trial

Both defendants, aged 15 at the time, now both 16, deny murder.

General view of Manchester Crown Court (Dave Thompson/PA) (PA Archive)

Jurors in the trial of two youths accused of murdering transgender teenager Brianna Ghey have been shown more messages exchanged between the two.

The defendants, identified only as girl X and boy Y, are alleged to have murdered Brianna, a 16-year-old transgender girl who was stabbed 28 times in a “brutal” attack in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, Cheshire, on February 11.

Both defendants, aged 15 at the time, now both 16, deny murder.

On Tuesday, the second day of the trial, Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, called the first witness, Detective Constable Chris Orme of Cheshire Police, as they detailed digital evidence recovered from the phones of the defendants after their arrest.

Mr Orme told the jury at Manchester Crown Court that in September last year the Tor browser application was purchased and installed on X’s mobile phone.

He said this gives the user access to areas of the internet not normally accessible, known as the Dark Web and hides the users identity.

On October 3 last year, a video from X’s WhatsApp account showed someone handling a large, silver Chef Aid branded kitchen knife.

Jurors were then shown messages between X and Y discussing the killing of another child, M, the girl saying she has a knife like, “the one that Sweeney Todd uses”, and talks about, “torture before killing”.

A month later X sent Y a video, an advert for an “underground” site for people who like, “rape, snuff, torture and murder”, with X telling him: “I love watching torture vids”.

A day later the internet browsing history on Y’s phone shows internet searches on various poisons, including VX nerve agents, sarin and tabun.

Later in December X tells Y in an exchange of WhatsApp messages, she is “obsessed” with Brianna and the two discuss the matter.

Y says: “I don’t think you are necessarily in love but more curious and intrigued by its unusual nature.”

He added: “If you go to a funeral and one person wears pink, you’re going to be fascinated by her appearance.”

Days later X asks Y for videos of people being tortured and on New Year’s Day this year Y sends X an image of the wooden handled hunting knife he had bought for £13.50, the weapon prosecutors alleged was used to kill Brianna.

Prosecutors alleged the messages show the defendants were “preoccupied” with torture, murder and death, with a handwritten plan to kill Brianna found by police in a notepad in X’s bedroom after her arrest.

Both defendants, who cannot be identified because of their ages, accepted being present with Brianna at the time she was killed but both deny participating in the killing, each blaming each other.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday morning