Brianna sends signs to let me know she is OK
Murdered teenager’s mother on finding comfort
THE mum of murdered Brianna Ghey says that pink skies bring her comfort because they are a message from her daughter.
Brianna, 16, was lured to a park and stabbed to death by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe a year ago.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, also both 16, were jailed for 22 years and 20 years respectively earlier this month.
Brianna’s mum Esther revealed Brianna doesn’t have a grave and that her ashes are kept in her bedroom in a pink casket, her favourite colour.
Esther believes her daughter has been sending her colourful signs, such rainbow clouds on the day her killers were found guilty and pink skies on the day of their sentencing.
She said: “It gives me comfort to know she’s OK, and she’s sending me these signs to tell me that she’s happy and she’s all right.”
Tomorrow the family will mark the first anniversary of Brianna’s murder.
Esther, 37, her partner, Wes Powell, 30, and Brianna’s older sister, Alisha, 19, will attend a 3pm vigil at a shopping centre in their home town of Warrington, Cheshire.
CHILLING
It emerged at her trial that Jenkinson, who was obsessed with serial killers, planned Brianna’s murder with Ratcliffe via chilling Snapchat and WhatsApp messages. Esther said she had never met Jenkinson, who lived nearby and had joined Brianna’s school just 10 weeks before the murder, but Brianna had spoken happily about her at home. She told the Daily Mail she would like to speak to Jenkinson’s mother, Emma Sutton, 49, to let her know that she does not blame her.
She said: “She will be grieving as well. They have also lost a child. I really, really, do feel so sorry for them. They didn’t commit the crime.” Brianna was transgender but Esther said she did not think transitioning caused her mental health struggles. She said: “The pandemic massively affected her. The struggles she had were the same as so many others.” She said when lockdown ended, Brianna found it difficult to return to lessons. She said: “She was so complex. She had her anxiety and all of her struggles but she was also really outgoing.” Esther is now campaigning for better regulation of social media and children’s phones, which she has discussed in an interview with the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg and at the Commons with Labour leader Keir Starmer. She says if her daughter’s killers had not been able to send disturbing messages or view the dark web, Brianna would still be alive.
She said: “It’s scary. That’s why I’m calling for phone companies to take more responsibility.”
She was so complex.. She had her anxiety and struggles but was so outgoing