Brianna killer's new school not told she drugged pupil

Teen poisoned victim with cannabis sweet - but was given second chance' at school where she met Brianna Ghey

- JANE DALTON

The school to which one of Brianna Ghey's killers was moved before murdering the 16-year-old was not told their new pupil had already drugged a younger girl with a cannabis sweet.

Teachers were told only that Scarlett Jenkinson had been caught with cannabis edibles and was being given a “second chance”, an investigation has found. The 13-year-old victim at Culcheth High School in Warrington, Cheshire, had fallen ill after Jenkinson gave her the sweet, and police were called in – but the victim’s parents did not want any further action.

It was at Birchwood Community High School that Jenkinson met Brianna. Four months after her switch, Jenkinson, together with Eddie Ratcliffe, murdered the transgender teenager in a “frenzied and ferocious” attack with a hunting knife in a park in February 2023. They stabbed her 28 times.

The pair were jailed for life yesterday for the murder, having been found guilty in December. At Manchester Crown Court, Jenkinson, 16, was told she must serve a minimum of 22 years, and Ratcliffe a minimum term of 20 years, less time on remand in both cases. The judge said they may never be free.

After poisoning the 13-year-old, Jenkinson had faced being expelled from Culcheth High School, which she attended alongside Ratcliffe, but instead a decision was made to avoid expulsion and transfer her to Birchwood. Teachers at the new school were unaware Jenkinson, then 15, had drugged another pupil.