A new documentary about Brianna Ghey, the trans teen murdered in Cheshire two years ago, “completely encapsulates [her] personality,” her mother says.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were found guilty of murder after Ghey was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park in February 2023, in what was described by the trial judge as an exceptionally brutal and sadistic attack.
Last year, both were sentenced to life imprisonment, with Jenkinson ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years, and Ratcliffe at least 20. Ratcliffe’s appeal against his sentence was turned down in December.
Now, Esther Ghey has spoken about the death of her 16-year-old daughter in Brianna: A Mother’s Story, a documentary for ITV which explores the murder.
The 75-minute programme follows Esther as she campaigns to make the UK safer for children, calling for a public inquiry into peer-on-peer violence and an investigation into the growing mental-health crisis among young people.
At a press screening on Sunday (23 March), Esther admitted she was left “completely emotional” by it. During a Q&A session, she said: “When you lose a child, especially in a tragic circumstance which is so high profile, your child essentially becomes public property.
“Anybody can write anything that they want, anybody can make any kind of film that they want and it was really important for me to work with somebody I trusted, and really important to make sure the documentary was authentic and showed Brianna for who she was.”
Esther also called for youngsters under the age of 16 to be banned from social media, which she described as a “cesspit”.
The filmmakers have “completely encapsulated Brianna’s personality, especially her fun side,” which Esther attributed in part to input from her daughter’s friends.
Relationship with Brianna “strained”
Esther also spoke out about the pressure that was placed on her relationship with her daughter: “Mine and Brianna’s relationship was really quite strained towards the end because I was trying to look after her, I was trying to make sure that she was okay,” she explained at the screening.
“The more I tried to protect her, the more she pushed me away so I hope that bringing mindfulness into families might improve relationships and no parent will be in the same situation as I was with Brianna.”
She added that filming the documentary was “traumatising” at times. “Whenever I speak about Brianna, it’s difficult. And obviously reliving things over and over again is never easy,” she explained.
“But it’s important to still be able to have that voice to talk about the issues that were around Brianna. Every time I speak about Brianna, it is difficult because it just reminds me of what I’ve lost.”
Brianna: A Mother’s Story is due air at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX on Thursday (27 March).
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