Brianna Ghey with her mother Esther. Photo / Supplied
Brianna Ghey with her mother Esther. Photo / Supplied
The mother of the murdered teenager Brianna Ghey has said she would meet the family of Scarlett Jenkinson, one of two school contemporaries convicted of killing her daughter.
Last week, Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, received life sentences for the murder of Brianna, a transgender 16-year-old who they stabbed 28 times on February 11 last year.
Esther Ghey said she did not “carry any hate” for Jenkinson or Ratcliffe but did not think she would ever be able to forgive them.
This is family photo issued by Cheshire Police shows Brianna Ghey. Photo / AP
Asked whether she had seen Jenkinson’s mother, Ghey told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: “I’ve seen her, but we haven’t come face-to-face. But when I think of their emotions and how they’re feeling, it just brings back how I felt when all this happened in February. She looks completely broken ... she’s going through an absolutely horrific time.”
Asked whether she had a message for Jenkinson’s mother, she said: “I think that I would like to say that if she did want to contact me, and she does want to speak, then I’m open to that.
“I’d like to understand more how their life was, and what they went through, and I also want her to know that I don’t blame her for what her child has done.
“I also want her to know that I understand how difficult being a parent is in this current day and age, with technology and phones and the internet, and how hard it is to actually monitor what your child is on. So … if she ever wants to speak to me, I’m here.”
Brianna Ghey's mother Esther Ghey (centre), arrives at Manchester Crown Court. Photo / AP
In a statement released on Friday, Jenkinson’s family said: “The past 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett’s actions.”
The family added their lives had been left “in turmoil” and thanked Ghey for her “incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family”.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe. Photo / AP
“Her compassion is overwhelming and we are forever grateful. To all of Brianna’s family and friends, our community, and everyone else that has been affected by this horror, we are truly sorry,” they said.
On Sunday, Brianna’s mother also called for the introduction of a law mandating the manufacture of mobile phones for under-16s that cannot access social media.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had used online messaging platforms to discuss wanting to kill Brianna and other people they knew, while Jenkinson also used a dark web internet browser app to watch videos of the torture and murder of real people in “red rooms”.
Asked whether her daughter might have been safe if the law was changed, Ghey replied: “Yeah, without a doubt. I think that either ... they wouldn’t have been searching that in the first place, and, if they did search it then the parents would know and they’d be able to get them some kind of help.”
