A teenage girl accused of the “frenzied” murder of transgender teenager Brianna Ghey, has told a court she fantasised about killing her, but had “no intention” of carrying it out.

The suspect, girl X, enjoyed “dark fantasies” about killing and torturing people, Manchester Crown Court heard.

Brianna, 16, was stabbed 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back with a hunting knife after being lured to Linear Park in Culcheth, near Warrington, in February.

Girl X and another youth, identified only as boy Y, both deny murder and are blaming each other for the killing.

The pair are both now aged 16 but were 15 at the time of Brianna’s death. Neither defendant can be identified because of their ages.

App to search the dark web

The accused, who gave evidence from behind a curtain, where she couldn’t be seen from the public gallery, said she began to be drawn to films featuring murder and torture and serial killers when she was 14.

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CCTV shows Brianna Ghey on bus before death

She even downloaded an app to search for such things on the dark web, she said.

Richard Pratt KC, defending girl X, asked if watching films about murder and torture made her want to do it.

The teenager said it didn’t but she “found the whole idea of it interesting, different personalities of serial killers and different ways they would carry things out”.

And boy Y, she said, had “similar interests” to her.

Peter Spooner, father of Brianna Ghey arriving with his partner (name not given) at Manchester Crown Court
Image:
Peter Spooner, father of Brianna Ghey arriving with his partner (name not given) at Manchester Crown Court

“I would share the dark fantasies that I have. Things to do with murdering people and torturing people. He would go along with it. He seemed to like that sort of stuff,” she said.

No problem with transgender issue

She denied being “obsessed” with Brianna, but said she found her “different” and “interesting”.

Girl X said she had no problem with Brianna being transgender, but boy Y had referred to Brianna as an “it” in Snapchat messages, because, she said, “he doesn’t agree with people who were trans or gay”.

She also denied trying to give Brianna an overdose to kill her a few weeks before she was stabbed, after telling boy Y she had given Brianna Ibuprofen pills but that she had a high tolerance and had not died.

She said: “I was making a fantasy about killing Brianna even though I had no intention.”

Mr Pratt also asked Girl X about five other children on her and boy Y’s alleged “Kill list”.

Again, she said these were all just fantasies and she had no intention of carrying them out.

The trial continues.