Eddie Ratcliffe, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years for the murder of 16-year-old Brianna, has applied for permission to appeal the decision.
The brutal crime, which took place in a park in Cheshire, involved luring Brianna to Culcheth, where she was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife.
Ratcliffe and his accomplice, Scarlett Jenkinson, who were both 15 at the time of the murder, had created a “kill list” of five children before selecting Brianna as their target. Last month, they were both handed life sentences for what was described as a “brutal, planned, and sadistic” murder in February 2023.
Eddie Ratcliffe (Credits: ITV)
During the trial, it was revealed that Jenkinson, who received a minimum term of 22 years, had a deep desire to kill, while Ratcliffe’s motivation was partly driven by hostility towards Brianna’s transgender identity.
Despite blaming each other throughout the trial, the judge clarified that both would only be released if the parole board deemed them no longer a danger to society.
In a poignant victim impact statement read out in court, Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey, expressed her belief that Jenkinson and Ratcliffe would always pose a danger.
She stated, “I would never want them to have the opportunity to carry out their sadistic fantasies on another child.” Now, a senior judge will consider Ratcliffe’s appeal application to determine if it will proceed.
