Brianna Grey Murder: Victim’s Mother Calls To Ban Children’s Access to Social Media

murder social media

By Jackelyn Cornejo , Parent Herald Feb 05, 08:20 am

Photo: (Photo : Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Brianna Ghey's mother, Esther, is calling for smartphones for individuals under 16 to be devoid of social media applications. She is also pushing for a system that flags inappropriate content searches to parents.

Brianna Ghey's Mother Calls for Law for Age-Restricted Phones

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time, murdered Brianna, 16, after enticing her to a park near Warrington, Cheshire.

Esther Ghey believes that implementing a law for age-restricted phones without certain social media apps and parental monitoring could have prevented the tragic outcome.

She also highlights her daughter's exposure to harmful online content, emphasizing the need to protect young individuals from such influences.

During the 18-day murder trial of Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, the mother of the victim, Brianna Ghey, Esther, endured distressing details about her daughter's final moments and the elaborate plot to kill her.

Despite feeling empathy for the families of the 16-year-old perpetrators, Esther observed a lack of remorse from Jenkinson and Ratcliffe, who denied murder and pointed fingers at each other.

Prosecutors presented hundreds of WhatsApp messages outlining the cold-blooded planning of Brianna's murder, revealing that the defendants had a hidden "thirst for killing."

Brianna, a transgender teenager, was fatally stabbed 28 times after being lured to a park in Warrington.

Despite initially considering rehabilitation for the perpetrators, Esther lost sympathy upon realizing the calculated nature of the crime.

One of the most challenging aspects for Esther was discovering that one of the killers was someone Brianna considered a friend.

The trial uncovered disturbing details, including a handwritten note outlining the murder plan.

The judge sentenced Jenkinson and Ratcliffe to at least 22 and 20 years, respectively, citing their "brutal and planned murder."

Despite the revelations, Esther maintains compassion for the perpetrators' families but acknowledges the ongoing pain of knowing what their children have done.

Esther Ghey, along with Birchwood Community High School head teacher Emma Mills, is now advocating for mindfulness in schools through the Peace in Mind campaign.

Two documentaries exploring the complete story behind Brianna's murder will be released on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds.

"So if a child is searching the kind of words that Scarlett and Eddie were searching, it will then flag up on the parent's phone."

She said if the searches her daughter's killers had made had been flagged, their parents would have been "able to get some kind of help".

Parental Monitoring on Children's Social Media Needed

Esther Ghey said her transgender daughter had accessed pro-anorexia and self-harm material online and been "very protective" over her phone, which had caused arguments.

"If she couldn't have accessed the sites, she wouldn't have suffered as much," she said.

Describing the internet as the "Wild West", she said the focus of technology had been on making money rather than "how we protect people or how we can necessarily benefit society".

The killers were identified for the first time as they were sentenced on Friday after the judge lifted a ban on the press naming them.

In a statement to the Warrington Guardian, Jenkinson's family said: "All of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family.

Esther Ghey is urging for age-appropriate phones connected to parents' devices to monitor suspicious activity and searches.

This call follows the revelation that one of the killers, Scarlett Jenkinson, developed an unhealthy fixation on Brianna, who was transgender, and had explored disturbing content on the dark web.

Brianna's mother is pushing for a change in the law and the implementation of software that automatically alerts parents to inappropriate material.

During the trial, it emerged that Jenkinson took pleasure in the act of killing, finding violence sexually arousing.

Esther Ghey is proposing legislation for mobile phones tailored for under-16s, excluding certain social media apps, and linking them to parents' phones with monitoring capabilities.

The Manchester Crown Court sentenced Jenkinson to a minimum of 22 years and Ratcliffe to 20 years for their brutal crime.

The Ghey family expressed gratitude to Esther for her selflessness and empathy, acknowledging the turmoil in their lives over the past year. They apologized to everyone affected by the tragedy and supported the jury's verdict, the judge's sentence, and the decision to reveal the culprits' identities.