Brianna Ghey murder trial: Accused girl posted Snapchat tribute

Two 16-year-olds – a girl from Warrington referred to as X and a boy from Leigh referred to as Y – are currently on trial accused of the murder of the 16-year-old Birchwood schoolgirl.

Transgender teen Brianna was found dead in Culcheth Linear Park on February 11 this year by dog walkers, having suffered 28 stab wounds.

Today, Friday, is day five of the trial at Manchester Crown Court, with a jury hearing of the actions of the two accused after Brianna’s death.

Girl X, jurors were told by prosecutor Deanna Heer, took to Snapchat after hearing news reports confirming that it was Brianna who died.

She shared a screenshot of a post from the Warrington Guardian’s Instagram page paying tribute to the deceased.

The Snapchat story had the header ‘rest in peace’ followed by two emojis of a dove.

The caption read: "Brianna was one of the best people I have ever met and such an amazing friend its so f****** sickening what got done to her."

The trial also heard evidence of the phone activity of X and Y after they returned to their respective homes on February 11.

At 4.28pm, X and Y share their first contact post-event, where they discuss cats, the court heard.

Y looked for ‘get help with anxiety, fear and panic’, ‘exercises for stress’, ‘stressbusters’, ‘how to calm anxiety’ and ‘help with PTSD’, with some results leading to the NHS website, the trial heard.

A tribute to Brianna was posted on Snapchat by the girl accused of her murder

The jury was then told X sent Y a message saying a relative told her not to go to Linear Park as a woman got stabbed, with Y replying: “Wow really.”

Y’s web history then indicated he visited page on ‘how to stop worry’, ‘meditation to stop anxiety’ and ‘coping with tragedy and tragic events’, the trial heard.

At 7.18pm, Y sent X a message stating the police had confirmed the death of a woman found with injuries in Culcheth Linear Park, to which X replied ‘ok’, the court was told.

Jurors were also told that both X and Y made multiple searches for news of Brianna’s death on the Warrington Guardian website, as well as other local and national news outlets.

Both defendants do not dispute being in Culcheth Linear Park on the day of Brianna’s death, but each denies that they are guilty of murder.

“Each denies that they participated in her killing at all. Each blames the other,” the trial previously heard.

The trial continues.

Cheshire Police and the Crown Prosecution Service remind everyone that criminal proceedings against both defendants are active, and that they have the right to a fair trial.

It is extremely important that there should be no commenting or sharing of information or speculation which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.

Due to their age, reporting restrictions are in place for both defendants, entitling them to anonymity, as well as other children involved in the evidence.