Brianna Ghey: Transgender teenager was ‘immersed in darkness’, inquest hears

The inquest began with Senior Coroner, Jacqueline Devilish, telling the court that her aims were not to “determine liability” but instead to answer four questions: who Brianna was as a person, and how, why and where she died.

The first piece of evidence was a written statement read out on behalf of Brianna’s mother, Esther Ghey. Ms Ghey was not present at court today, simply stating she felt unable to attend.

In the statement, Esther described her daughter, saying that as a child, Brianna was “funny, mischievous, outgoing” and “had endless energy”.

However, she then went on to describe the changes that occurred as Brianna reached her teenage years.

She explained her daughter’s struggles with mental health, going into graphic details about self-harm and hygiene.

“She also said that as she began to realise that she was transgender, Brianna reached the stage where she threatened suicide if she would have been unable to get the necessary medication.

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Speaking about the services Brianna was offered, Esther said: “I feel like she was let down with the lack of mental health treatment.”

At the end of her statement, Brianna’s mother said that once she reached her teenage years, her daughter was “immersed in darkness”, and when she thinks about the energetic child compared to the struggling teenager, she sometimes feels she is grieving the loss of two children.

The court also heard evidence from Brianna’s father, Peter Spooner, who appeared upset and uncomfortable throughout the proceedings.

He described his relationship with his daughter and the difficulties they had when Brianna decided to transition.

Spooner said: “I just didn’t know how to deal with that at the time.”

Next to take the witness stand was Brianna’s friend, Daisy Birkin.

She was visibly emotional when she first sat down, so much so that the Coroner offered for someone to come and sit with her whilst she gave her evidence.

Daisy told the court she had met Brianna when they were 11 as they were in the same form group at school.

She said that Brianna “didn’t really enjoy school” and instead, “she used to want to be famous”.

She also described the last Snapchat video she ever received from her friend on the day of her death.

Brianna had sent videos earlier that day as she got ready, saying she was going to meet Scarlett in Culcheth “to take drugs”, and that they were meeting Scarlett’s “drug-dealer”, whom Daisy now believes was a reference to Eddie Ratcliffe.

Brianna also sent videos to Daisy as she made her way to Culcheth on the bus, ending the final video as a car approached because “she didn’t want to be seen filming herself”.

Within a few hours of sending that video, Brianna Ghey had been murdered.

The inquest has been scheduled for three days, with the final day expected on Friday.