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School unaware killer 'spiked' student - inquest

Handout Brianna Ghey, who has long straight brown hair and wears black glasses, smiles at the camera while standing against a backdrop of woodlandHandout
Brianna Ghey was lured to a Warrington park and ambushed

The school where Brianna Ghey met her killer did not know the murderer had once "spiked" a student with cannabis sweets, an inquest heard.

Scarlett Jenkinson plotted Brianna's murder and roped in her friend Eddie Ratcliffe to lure the 16-year-old to Culcheth Linear Park, Warrington, in February 2023.

The two killers, then both aged 15, stabbed Brianna multiple times before leaving her to die.

Cheshire Coroner’s Court in Warrington heard that Jenkinson had been moved to Birchwood High School, where Brianna was a pupil, in what is known as a "managed transfer".

Cheshire Police Police mugshots of Scarlett Jenkinson, who has shoulder length hair dyed dark red, and Eddie Ratcliffe, who has shoulder length curly brown hair and a short beardCheshire Police
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe killed Brianna in an attack described as "brutal and sadistic" by a judge

In September 2022, when she attended Culcheth High School, Jenkinson had given another student a sweet containing cannabis. The student fell ill and was taken to hospital.

The school informed Cheshire Police, but the girl and her family declined to press charges.

The inquest into Brianna’s death is examining whether the transfer of Jenkinson to Birchwood placed her at risk.

In a joint statement of facts by the two schools and Warrington Council Children’s Services, the inquest was told the full details of the spiking incident had not been shared with Birchwood High School during a meeting to discuss the transfer.

The statement said Culcheth High School head teacher Christopher Hunt had said there had been a one-off incident involving a child who had brought an illegal substance into school, eaten some of it and supplied it to other students.

But it was not disclosed at the meeting that police had been contacted or that the other student had been taken to hospital.

Obsession

The statement said this was because it had been a public meeting and it had been considered appropriate to only share essential details.

It said forms held by Culcheth High School recorded that the incident had involved "spiking", but these documents had not been sent to Birchwood High School.

It also stated: "Neither of the schools could possibly have foreseen nor did they foresee that Jenkinson posed any threat to Brianna or any other child".

The statement added: "Birchwood High School acknowledge that if all available details had been provided, they likely would still have offered Jenkinson a transfer, but may have put a different support package around her."

During their trial, the jury heard Jenkinson had become obsessed with Brianna, who was transgender, and was also viewing material about torture and murder on the dark web.

The killers were found guilty of murder at Manchester Crown Court and detained for life in February, with minimum terms of 22 years for Jenkinson and 20 years for Ratcliffe.

The inquest continues.

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