The Murder of Brianna Ghey: “The Kill List”

A HATEFUL HOMICIDE — SEASON 7, EPISODE 5

The Murder of Brianna Ghey: “The Kill List”

On February 11, 2023, 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, a transgender girl from Warrington, England, was lured to Culcheth Linear Park, where she was murdered in a planned knife attack.

“The Kill List” examines the murder of Brianna Ghey, the disturbing communications and planning that preceded her death, and the investigation and trial that followed. Brianna's killers, Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, were both 15 at the time of the murder. Investigators uncovered messages in which the teenagers discussed murder and maintained a “kill list” that included Brianna and other young people.

The episode explores how Brianna was targeted, the events leading to the fatal meeting, and the evidence presented at Manchester Crown Court. The court heard evidence concerning both the extensive planning of the killing and the defendants' communications about Brianna's transgender identity. At sentencing, Mrs Justice Yip found that hostility toward Brianna because she was transgender was a secondary motive in the murder.

The episode also examines the complicated question of motive. Evidence presented during the proceedings described violent fantasies, fascination with murder and discussions about other potential victims. At the same time, the defendants' lawyers offered differing explanations of their individual motivations. Rather than reducing Brianna's murder to a single explanation, A Hateful Homicide examines what the evidence established, what remained contested, and what the court ultimately determined.

Brianna's case also provides an opportunity to examine how transgender identity can intersect with criminal investigations, hate-crime law, media reporting, and the treatment of transgender victims. Under England and Wales' Sentencing Act 2020 framework, demonstrated hostility toward a transgender victim or an offence motivated wholly or partly by hostility toward transgender people can constitute an aggravating factor at sentencing.

At the center of this episode, however, is Brianna—not the people who killed her.

A daughter.
A friend.
A teenager with a future ahead of her.
A transgender girl whose life was violently taken.

“The Kill List” asks difficult questions about violence, transphobia, adolescent radicalization, online influences, friendship, accountability, and the warning signs that can be overlooked before violence becomes reality.

But most importantly, it asks us to remember the person behind the headline:

Brianna Ghey deserved to live.

A Hateful Homicide

Season 7, Episode 5 — “The Kill List”

Remember the victim. Investigate the truth. Tell their stories.