Brianna Ghey: Dog walker's 999 call about teenager played to jury

A dog walker who found Brianna Ghey's body told a 999 operator the teenager was "covered in blood" and help needed to come "quickly", a court has heard.

Kathryn Vize found Brianna, 16, after she was stabbed 28 times in Linear Park in Culcheth, Cheshire, on 11 February.

At Manchester Crown Court, the trial of a teenage girl and boy, identified only as X and Y, was played her brief call as she tried to get help for Brianna.

Girl X, of Warrington, and boy Y, of Leigh, have denied murder.

Warning: Some readers might find the following report distressing

The court was told Mrs Vize made her call at 15:13 GMT after finding the transgender teenager in the park while walking her dogs with her husband Andrew.

In the recording, the dog walker was heard to be breathing heavily and in clear distress.

She told the operator somebody was "very hurt" after being attacked and she had "seen some of the attackers run away from the body".

She said Brianna was "bleeding heavily" and had "blood on her legs and on her back".

"We thought it was a dummy at first. I don't want to touch her either. I don't know if she's alive," she said, adding: "It's an absolute mess."

Mrs Vize then told the operator her husband would wait with Brianna and she would go to the car park to direct the emergency services.

The operator then asked Mrs Vize if she believed Brianna had been hit.

"I think she's been attacked. She may have been stabbed," she replied.

"Is she breathing?" the operator asked.

"No, I don't think so," she replied.

"I can't see her face, it's covered in blood."

She said Brianna was "dressed like a teenager", before adding: "Are they coming quickly? It's a nightmare."

The operator then asked her about Brianna's breathing and asked: "Can you ask your husband to put pressure on the wound?"

Clearly distressed, Mrs Vize replied: "I don't think there's anything you can do for her."

The call then ended with the operator telling her multiple police units and paramedics are on the way.

Addressing the court, judge Mrs Justice Yip adjourned the hearing, telling jurors: "I think that's an appropriate time to take a break."

The jury was also shown a police interview with Mrs Vize, which was filmed the following day.

In it, she told officers she and her husband saw a male and a female, who she thought "were walking towards me, but when I looked up, he was stooping and I thought he's putting a dog on the lead".

She said she later realised the male was standing "over the body".

She then told officers the pair crossed the path and went into a nearby field, at first walking and then starting to run, "but it wasn't a sprint, more of a lollop".

"It was just so suspicious," she said.

"They obviously saw us and felt they had to go because their pace definitely quickened up when they saw us."

She said she did not see the male's face but the female made eye contact with her before she noticed Brianna's body and made the 999 call.

Mr Vize's police interview was also played to the court.

He said he saw a "furtive" and "hurried" couple walking in the field at quite a fast pace and made eye contact with the male, but his face was partially covered with a hood.

"I was aware they had clocked us," he told officers.

He said he then thought "what are we going to find", before seeing Brianna on the path.

Mr Vize told police he thought he saw Brianna's chest move and "bent down to try to see signs of life".

He said he also spoke to the teenager "to say 'hang in, we're phoning the police'".

Later, PC Andrew Chadwick, who was dispatched to the park following the 999 call, told the court he found Brianna lying on her front in an "almost foetal position", but not completely face down.

He said she had multiple wounds to her head, neck, body and back and her clothing was soaked in blood.

He said he could not find a pulse but began chest compressions.

The court was told paramedics arrived five minutes later and took over, while PC Chadwick helped an air ambulance to land in the field next to the park.

The jury heard that despite the efforts of the emergency services, Brianna was pronounced dead at 16:02.

The trial continues.

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