Teenagers 'wanted to kill five children'

Two teenagers accused of murdering a 16-year-old girl in a park near Warrington had a list of five children they wanted to kill, a court heard yesterday.

- Helen Pidd

The girl and boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were 15 when one or both of them allegedly stabbed Brianna Ghey 28 times in a "sustained and violent attack" on 11 February. Brianna was transgender and had been living and dressing as a girl before her death, Manchester crown court heard.

Her alleged killers are accused of planning the murder over several weeks, if not months, before luring her to Culcheth Linear park on the pretence of getting high on cocaine, the jury heard.

They had planned to kill Brianna a fortnight earlier but were thwarted when she cancelled at the last minute, the court was told.

The defendants, now 16, each accuses the other of the murder, the jury heard. Deanna Heer KC said: "The prosecution case is that, whoever delivered the fatal blows, both defendants are equally guilty. Acting together, they planned and executed their plan to kill her."

The defendants have known each other since they were and were "close friends who were in regular contact with each other and trusted each other", said Heer. Much of the evidence against them is contained in their text exchanges in the run-up to and aftermath of the murder. The messages contain language that some readers will find offensive.

The girl, known as X, met Brianna in November last year. She told the boy, Y, that December: "I'm obsessed over someone I know but don't have feelings for them ... She's called Brianna... I don't know how to explain.