Girl on trial for Brianna Ghey murder says plan to kill on her phone a ‘fantasy’

A girl accused of murdering trans girl Brianna Ghey told jurors messages found on her found planning killing and torture were “fantasy”.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, took to the witness box for the first time at Manchester Crown Court on Friday afternoon.

Brianna was also 16 when she was found stabbed 28 times in a “frenzied” attack in Linear Park in Culcheth, Warrington, in February.

Girl X and Boy Y both admit they were present at the scene but deny murder, blaming each other for the killing.

The prosecution has told the jury the pair had a preoccupation with “violence, torture and death” and drew up a “kill list” of at least five people they wanted to murder in the months preceding the attack on Brianna.

Girl X, who was given permission to give evidence from behind a screen by judge Justice Yip, admitted she first developed an interest in murder and torture “a couple of years ago” when she was about 14-years-old.

Answering questions from her barrister Richard Pratt KC, she said she downloaded a TOR browser on her phone in order to access illegal material on the dark web.

“It was a mix of different styles of violent stuff, like including murder and torture,” she said.

“I’m not sure why they interested me I just found it interesting.”

However, the girl denied the content made her want to carry out any violent acts in real life, claiming it was just a “fantasy”.

“I just found the idea of it interesting,” she said.

“But I never had any intention, I just found it interesting to watch things to do with it.”

Girl X also told the court that she took an interest in serial killers.

“I just found it interesting just like different personalities of different serial killers, the different ways they would carry things out,” she said.

The girl, who was 15 at the time of the killing, said she met Brianna last October at school and that they became friends.

“She was different to the kind of friends I would hang out with and a lot of friends I know, just her overall personality,” the girl said.

Asked if she found Brianna attractive, Girl X said: “Yes I did.”

Jurors have heard details of messages exchanged between Girl X and Boy Y about Brianna before the alleged murder.

In one, Boy Y asked: “Is it a femboy or a tranny?”

Asked why she thought Boy Y referred to Brianna as “it”, Girl X said: “He doesnt exactly agree with people that were trans or people that were gay, so he would refer to Brianna as it rather than she.”

Asked if she had any anti-trans views, Girl X said: “No”

The jury has heard that Girl X used a fake SnapChat account under the name ‘Nathan’ and used this it to pretend she was buying drugs on the day Brianna was killed.

Giving evidence, Girl X said: “I originally made that account because I was kind of questioning my gender at that point.

“I made that to pretend to be a boy. I wanted to see what it was like.”

Girl X admitted that she filmed footage of a knife being used to stab a piece of furniture.

“I don’t remember why I made it,” she said.

Asked why her blood was found on the knife, she said: “I used to use the knife to self harm.”

She said she first began self-harming when she was about 12-years-old as a “coping mechanism.”

Girl X said her mood would go up and down often and she believes she could have bipolar disorder, though she has not been diagnosed.

She has been seen by mental health professionals but said it hadn’t helped.

The trial, which is due to last up to four weeks, continues.