Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, previously known only as Girl X and Boy Y, have been named as the killers of Brianna Ghey following the the lifting of reporting restrictions by Mrs Justice Yip. It is not the normal run of things.
Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl, was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park in an attack that had involved significant planning.
Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had targeted a different child initially but abandoned those plans after failing to lure him to Culcheth Linear Park. The pair then switched their murderous focus. They were 15 at the time of the crime.
Under section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, children and young people charged with crimes are usually granted the protection of reporting restrictions, preventing their identity being published until they reach the age of 18.
That such restrictions have been lifted is a testament to the barbarity of the crime committed and the concomitant urgent public interest in an informed debate about how we got here.
When making such an “excepting direction”, a judge has to be convinced that the interests of the public in the full reporting of criminal proceedings outweigh the desirability of avoiding additional harm to the convicted child.
Most famously, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10 years old, were named after their conviction in 1993 of the abduction, torture and murder of two-year-old James Bulger.
As in the Bulger case, the naming of Jenkinson and Ratcliffe will undoubtedly fuel interest in those responsible for the murder, potentially lead to them being targeted while in custody, and will undoubtedly have a huge impact on their mental health.
Jenkinson has traits of autism and ADHD, the court heard, while Ratcliffe has been diagnosed as having autism and selective mutism. But as with Thompson and Venables, the names of the killers were already well-known in the communities within which they lived. Their names had been shared on social media. Death threats had already been made. The killers’ names would have been made public property in just two years’ time when they reach the age of 18.
The judge came to the conclusion that the informed debate that must be had about the murder of Brianna may as well be had now. “Full and accurate reporting of the proceedings serves an important purpose in assisting public understanding,” she said when making her order with regard to the lifting of restrictions last December.
Their naming was only delayed until Friday’s sentencing as a consequence of the timing – the verdicts of their guilt came just before the Christmas break. Girl X and Boy Y would need to be fully supported by the youth offending teams as their identities were revealed, it was decided. Delaying the naming until the new year would give those responsible some time to prepare.
In custody it is expected that Jenkinson and Ratcliffe will be given new identities, as was the case with Thompson and Venables, who were then given lifetime anonymity in 2001 when they reached adulthood. It is likely that those acting for them will seek the same protections. It is hoped the informed debate will have been had by then and that the lessons will be learned.
“The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful,” Yip said.
