The doorbell footage, the worried text, and a tragedy they never saw coming

When Brianna Ghey stepped out of her home on February 11 last year, she could have had no idea she would never return.

The 16-year-old was lured to a nearby park in broad daylight by two teenagers - including one she thought was a friend. A three-day inquest into the transgender teenager's death found she was unlawfully killed by classmate Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, Scarlett's friend.

Together, the pair had been secretly plotting to kill. But the inquest at Warrington Coroner's Court ruled that the school Brianna and Jenkinson attended, Ratcliffe's school, or the local authority could have foreseen what would happen.

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Vulnerable, unsuspecting Brianna was murdered in a frenzied attack, the Mirror reports. The anxious teen was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight at Culcheth Linear Park, near Warrington.

Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, were jailed for life for the 'sadistic' murder.

Brianna had been a pupil at Birchwood High School, Warrington, where she was befriended by Jenkinson who had transferred from Culcheth High School after she 'spiked' a younger pupil with cannabis-laced sweets.

 Following her 'managed transfer' from Culcheth - where Ratcliffe was a pupil - within weeks Jenkinson became obsessed with Brianna and began plotting her murder with Ratcliffe.

The evil pair had both denied murder and blamed each other for the tragic events that unfolded. During a lengthy trial at Manchester Crown Court, the jury heard their fascination for violence and torture and was told of Brianna's tragic last moments before she fell victim to the shocking attack.

During the murder trial, a jury of seven men and five women were played Ring doorbell camera footage, which showed Brianna leaving her home in the Birchwood area of the town at around 12.45pm on the day she was killed. The footage shows the schoolgirl on her phone as she pulls her front door shut, wearing a white hoodie, black skirt and knee-high white socks and carrying a bag over one shoulder.

Still on her phone, she walks down the path to the gate, then opens it and heads out, still texting as she passes out of sight of the camera. This was the final time she left her home.

She then caught the number 28 bus from Birchwood Station to Culcheth Library to meet her killers. A statement which was read to the court on behalf of bus driver Kieran Mercer said: "From the moment I saw her, I felt there was something odd about her.

"I felt as if she was going out of her way not to be seen. She was very timid and quietly spoken. She gave the impression she was just someone who wanted to be left alone."

At 1.41pm, Brianna messaged her mum Esther Ghey to say: "I'm on bus by myself. I'm scared". Ms Ghey texted back "That's well good." She added in court: "I was really proud of her. I don't think she ever saw it."

Kieran Mercer's statement added: "The thing that made her stand out was the way she was dressed. It was freezing cold that day, I couldn't believe she wasn't wearing warmer clothing." He said she asked for a 'child single to Culcheth'.

Brianna was said to have 'last logged onto WhatsApp' at 1.47pm. Jenkinson and Ratcliffe met her at the bus stop before they headed to Culcheth Linear Park. Another Ring doorbell camera caught the trio of teenagers entering an alleyway leading to the park at 2.02pm.

A statement was read on behalf of witness Rachel Powell, whose son is the partner of Esther Ghey, Brianna's mother. She said she was driving in Culcheth on February 11 and noticed Brianna walking on the pavement with two people.

She said she only saw them for a 'couple of seconds' and was paying attention to Brianna, due to her being a family member. Ms Powell said she regarded them as being 'normal teenagers' who were 'talking and laughing' and said that 'nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary' - but this was far from the reality.

The court heard that the two teens used a codeword to signal when to start the attack to kill Brianna. Meanwhile police had later found a chilling note of the murder plan in Jenkinson's bedroom when she was arrested, which was read out in court by Ms Heer.

It read: "Meet Eddie at wooden posts 1pm. Walk down to library ... bus stop. Wait until Brianna gets off bus then the 3 of us walk to linear park. Go to the pipe/tunnel area. I say code word to Eddie. He stabs her in the back as I stab her in the stomach. Eddie drags the body into the area. We both cover up the area with logs etc."

Later on at 3.13pm, a dog walker called 999 after finding Brianna gravely injured. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.02pm. Ms Heer said: "The number of wounds and the pattern of injuries, taken as a whole, suggests that Brianna was subjected to a sustained and violent assault with a knife."

She told the court that bottles of soft drinks were found at the scene with DNA from Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, proving they had been present. She said they remained together as they walked away from the park and were spotted on dashcam walking together on Wigshaw Lane at 3.15pm.

CCTV footage showed them walking towards Jenkinson's home. She arrived at around 3.20pm and deleted a Snapchat conversation she'd had with Brianna at 3.44pm.

Meanwhile, Ratcliffe was caught 'apparently wiping his hands, which appeared to be red in colour' on CCTV before getting the bus back to his home, arriving at about 4pm. His mother, Alice Hemmings, told the inquest that she called her son to say she was in the area to pick him up, but he was "happy to get the bus home".

Ms Hemmings said he 'whistled' instead of saying hello. She said: "I could hear people in the background but felt uneasy. I just felt like I needed all my family at home with me, I didn't feel relaxed that day and there was too much to do.

"I texted to see if he was home when I finished work and he said yes. He came down differently, pleased to see me and allowed me to hug him. He wanted to stay downstairs and be in the family environment."

From age 14, Jenkinson had enjoyed watching videos of real killing and torture on the dark web, fantasised about murder and developed an interest in serial killers, her murder trial heard. But their 'dark fantasies' were not known to either school or any other adults, their trial heard.

The three-day inquest at Warrington Coroner's Court examined safeguarding for all three teenagers and how Brianna was brought into contact with Jenkinson. But the hearing was told despite Jenkinson's misbehaviour in school, no one could have foreseen she was planning and would go on to murder Brianna.

Concluding the inquest, Jacqueline Devonish, senior coroner for Cheshire, said: "There was no reason for anyone to suspect the friendship was anything other than genuine. I found Birchwood High School offered Brianna a high standard of support within a caring environment."

Ms Devonish said there were no visible signs that Brianna was at risk from Jenkinson. She added: "She had been planning Brianna's murder since late 2022. Eddie Ratcliffe was the only person who knew, other than Scarlett Jenkinson.

"I found that the schools could not have reasonably foreseen that Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe would have plotted and murdered Brianna. It could not have, on the evidence available at the time, reasonably have been foreseen that Scarlett Jenkinson was mentally unstable so that she would kill." Jenkinson must serve a minimum of 22 years before being eligible for parole and Ratcliffe 20 years.