Brianna Ghey: Boy told police 'I saw girl stabbing teenager'

A boy accused of murdering Brianna Ghey told police he saw his co-accused stabbing her, a court has heard.

Brianna, 16, who was transgender, was found stabbed 28 times with a knife in Culcheth Linear Park in Cheshire on the afternoon of 11 February.

Girl X and boy Y, who cannot be named because of their ages, both deny murder.

Manchester Crown Court heard they both blamed each other for being responsible for Brianna's death.

At the start of the second week of the trial, jurors were shown video recorded police interviews with the suspects after their arrests, the day after Brianna's death.

Warning: Some readers might find the following report distressing

Boy Y said girl X had invited Brianna, who he had never met before, to meet up and go to the park, and suggested an area near a bench.

He said: "I turned away to go to the toilet behind a tree.

"When I turned back around I saw girl X stabbing Brianna. Brianna was on the floor."

Boy Y told detectives he saw Brianna curled up on the floor and girl X, who had a knife, was standing over her.

He said: "I went to check if Brianna was alive. I put my hands on her. I got blood all on my hands."

A detective asked him: "Did you see where the blood was coming from?"

"Everywhere," boy Y replied.

He said girl X stopped stabbing Brianna because she saw a member of the public in the park and she ran away.

He followed, with them both then walking away from the park.

Boy Y continued: "I asked her why she did it. She said Brianna tried to break her and her boyfriend up."

He said girl X appeared "calm", but he was "shocked and panicked".

And he told police he did not see the knife and did not know what girl X did with it afterwards.

But jurors have been told it was now accepted Brianna was killed with a hunting knife belonging to boy Y, which was found in his bedroom at his home with Brianna's blood still on the weapon.

Neither defendant disputes that in the days and weeks before Brianna's death, they had discussed and made plans to kill her, prosecutors told the court.

The same day boy Y was interviewed, girl X was also questioned by detectives.

In her police interview she claimed they were with Brianna at the park and she was "very happy" and "really smiley", but then abruptly "stormed off" to meet a boy, 17, from Manchester, who was picking her up in his car.

Girl X was told by police her phone and messages would be analysed by officers, but she denied there was anything on the device to do with Brianna's death.

She then made "no comment" to further questions, the court heard.

The trial continues.

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