A vigil has been held in Warrington to mark the anniversary of the death of the “amazing, unique and joyful teenager” Brianna Ghey.
More than a thousand people came together to remember everything from her “lethal” way with a makeup sponge to her “famous eye roll.”
The memorial at the town’s Golden Square shopping precinct was organised for 3pm, the time that Brianna was murdered on 11 February last year in Culcheth Linear Park.
Emma Mills, her headteacher at Birchwood community high school, said Brianna was “hilarious, sharp and unapologetically herself, always speaking her mind, and that was whether you wanted to hear it or not. None of us were immune from her sarcasm, her wit and her candour.”
Mills remembered how Brianna, who had identified as trans in year 8, would pass judgment on teachers’ outfits, never failing to dismiss a handbag she did not like as “too middle aged”.
“It’s hard to believe that a year has passed since we last saw Brianna. Since we last heard her voice or experienced her famous eye roll,” said Mills.
One of Brianna’s friends, Emily, wept as she listed all the things the teenager should have done in the last year, from turning 17 to attending the school prom: “We all know you would have worn the pinkest, sparkliest dress ever,” Emily said, recalling how the two girls clicked “instantly, even if it was through my orange makeup”.
Another friend remembered how they would “inhale” Domino’s pizza at sleepovers and how Brianna would try out makeup looks on her, “even though that beauty blender was lethal”.
Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, paid tribute to her “amazing, unique and joyful teenager”, saying: “If there’s one piece of advice that I can give to any parent it would be to hold your children tight and never stop telling them that you love them.”
Many trans people were in the crowd, some being held close by their parents. Anita Blake was there with her 15-year-old trans son, River, and said she wanted to let Esther Ghey know she was “not alone”.
River attended a trans youth group, TAGS, with Brianna, and described her as “like summer. She would always make you smile and laugh. She would always be there for you no matter what. If you called her at 3am, she would pick up.”
Charlotte Nichols, the MP for Warrington North, said: “Meeting hate with love is within our town tradition and recent history. And I hope we can be a beacon for how to navigate complex debates about equality, about mental health and about online safety, with compassion and empathy.”
Mills said that what Brianna wanted most in life was to be famous – “or TikTok famous, as she used to say. As I stand here today and see so many of you here to remember her I cannot help but think about the cruel irony of it. She would have loved that everybody knew her name.”
She celebrated Brianna for being herself: “Societal pressure to conform is very real for all of us, but the level of pressure as a teenager amongst your peers can be so intense. Brianna knew who she was and she didn’t bow to the pressures around her. Please remember that about her, to be true to yourself. Be yourself and not a version of yourself that you think others want you to be.”
