A 16-year-old girl has been stabbed to death in a “targeted attack” in a Cheshire park in broad daylight, police have said.
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Two children arrested on suspicion of murdering girl, 16, in Warrington park
Hayley Dixon
Sun, February 12, 2023 at 5:57 p.m. AST·4 min read
Brianna Ghey's body was found on a path in Linear Park in Culcheth by members of the public at 3.13pm on Saturday
A 16-year-old girl has been stabbed to death in a “targeted attack” in a Cheshire park in broad daylight, police have said.
Officers named the victim as Brianna Ghey, who was found by members of the public as she lay wounded on a path in Linear Park, Culcheth, just after 3pm on Saturday.
A 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, both from the local area, have been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Locals paid tribute to the “beautiful” teenager who was described as a “very quiet” person.
Detective Chief Supt Mike Evans of Cheshire police described it as a “targeted attack” during a “busy day” at the park.
“This is a truly awful attack on a 16-year-old girl, who has sadly lost her very short life,” he added.
It is understood that Brianna was born a boy but had been living as a girl for a number of months.
Police say that they do not believe the crime is related to the fact that the teenager is transgender and there is currently no evidence to suggest it is a hate crime. Officers said that they were keeping an “open mind” as to the motive.
Sources told the Telegraph that it remains unclear whether the killer was known to Brianna, but they are treating her death as an isolated incident and they do not believe that there is any risk to the wider community.
Emergency services were called to Linear Park in Culcheth by members of the public at 3.13pm yesterday, Saturday 11 February 2023, after Brianna’s body was found on a path. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
It is understood that the weapon used in the attack has not yet been found.
Brianna's family are being supported by the police.
The teenager had a number of social media profiles and thousands of followers, frequently posting videos miming pop songs whilst in school uniform.
Emma Fortune, who works in Valli Opticians in Birchwood, said Brianna and her mother had been customers of theirs since she started working there seven years ago.
“I last saw them last year,” she said. “Brianna looked gorgeous with her hair down and her make up. Her little face lit up when I told her how beautiful she looked.
'Her mum will be devastated'
‘When I found out she’d been killed it was awful. I was so upset. Her mum will be devastated.”
Residents said they heard that park visitors were asked by police who attended the scene whether they had seen a man “in a green jacket”.
A man said he’d seen police vehicles arriving at the scene, which remained cordoned off on Sunday night as a forensics team combed an area of the park.
Cheshire Constabulary said officers were called to the park at around 3.13pm on Saturday
He said: “The park is very popular and is used by dog-walkers, cyclists and horse riders.
“It’s an old railway track with one main path that branches off further down. Kids sometimes go down at night with bottles of alcohol.
“But this is a quiet area normally, so it’s a bit of a shock this has happened.”
Detective Chief Supt Evans said they were “keeping an open mind and would continue to follow other lines of enquiry that appear”.
He said: “We are keen to speak to anyone who was in the park from around 1.30pm until 4pm yesterday or anyone who may have seen Brianna in the hours leading up to her death. We would ask people and businesses within the local community to check any CCTV or dashcam footage for anything that may aid our investigation.
“I would like to reassure the local community that we are working hard to find those responsible for Brianna’s death and we have extra officers in and around Culcheth supporting the investigation. We also have officers supporting Brianna’s family at this really tragic time.”