Brianna Ghey Trial: Teenager's injuries were "not survivable"

The court has been hearing from a pathologist

Author: Pat Hurst, PAPublished 5th Dec 2023

Transgender teenager Brianna Ghey suffered unsurvivable injuries when she was stabbed 28 times during a "sustained and violent assault", a court heard.

And the knife used was "consistent" with the 12cm hunting knife found, with her blood still on it, in the bedroom of boy Y, one of the two teenagers accused of her murder, Manchester Crown Court was told.

Boy Y and girl X, who cannot be named because of their ages, are both accused of the murder of Brianna, 16, who was found fatally injured in Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington, on the afternoon of February 11.

Both defendants, aged 15 at the time, now both 16, deny murder and are blaming each other for Brianna's death.

The trial, now in its second week, has been told X and Y had a fixation with torture, violence and death, and drew up a "kill list" of child victims.

An alleged "murder plan" to kill Brianna was found in the bedroom of X, who had an interest in serial killers and described herself as a "Satanist" the trial has heard.

On Tuesday Home office consultant pathologist Dr Alison Armour told the jury of the results of the post-mortem examination she carried out on Brianna's body at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital the day after her death.

Dr Armour said of the 28 stab wounds that 14 were to the head and neck and 14 to the chest, back and sides.

She concluded the injuries were consistent with a "sustained and violent assault" with a bladed weapon.

Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, asked the pathologist about images she had seen of the hunting knife found in Y's bedroom, which has a single sharp edge blade, 12cm in length.

Ms Heer said, "Is that a candidate for causing some or all of these wounds?"

"Yes, it is," Dr Armour replied.

Dr Armour said she could not exclude the possibility another knife, of similar size, could have been used to inflict the wounds - but there was no positive evidence suggesting the use of a second knife.

And Dr Armour said from the pathology evidence it is not possible to say in which order the wounds were inflicted or whether Brianna was standing or sitting down when she was stabbed.

The trial was adjourned until Wednesday .

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