Felt like my heart was being ripped out… no parent should have to bury their child, says grieving mother of Brianna Ghey

“My name is Esther Ghey. I am making this victim impact statement in regards to my daughter, Brianna Ghey.

Brianna was an extremely vulnerable teenager. As Brianna's mother, I was constantly afraid that she would put herself in risky situations. As a teenager, she was diagnosed with ADHD and ASD; under these conditions she found it extremely difficult to identify dangerous situations. Although in this case no one could have predicted that it would be a dangerous situation for Brianna.

This was the hardest thing for me and the rest of Brianna's family to come to terms with. When we found out that one of the people accused of murder was someone we thought was her boyfriend. Someone we trusted. Someone I was so happy with, for fear that my child had been lonely. Not knowing that this person intended to not only cause harm, but to take the life of my precious child. I tried so hard to protect Brianna when she put herself in danger, but I failed by letting her meet Scarlett that Saturday afternoon.

I was happy when I received the text from Brianna on the afternoon of February 11 saying she was going to meet her friend. To meet her, Brianna had managed to get on the bus herself, which was quite a challenge. first and a big problem for her. I was worried that Brianna wouldn't be able to go to college because of her anxiety, and this was a big break for her. I thought she would have a great time hanging out with her friend and getting some fresh air. All the while she was being lured to her death. All I can think about is that she would have been scared and I wasn't there for her. She needed me to protect her, Brianna was not a fighter and she must have been so scared.

The day of and the days after February 11 were and always will be the worst days of my life. It felt like someone had killed a part of me, like my heart had been ripped out. I have never felt so much sadness and I would never wish that pain on anyone else. At night I shared my bed with Alisha because neither of us could sleep alone. I couldn't eat and was completely numb, living one day after another. It was so quiet in our house now that Brianna was gone.

Every time I went into my bedroom, I put my ear to the wall that separated mine and Brianna's rooms to try to hear her chatting and giggling while FaceTiming with her friends, but there was only silence. When I walked through the front door I expected her to come down the stairs to ask for a Dominoes pizza for tea, but there was only silence. I went into her bedroom to ask her where she went and if she was okay. It broke my heart to know that I would never get a response and that I would never hear her voice again. I really wanted to know that she was doing well and that she was no longer alone and in pain.

The fact that Brianna was taken from me in such a horrific way causes a pain that is difficult to describe. No parent should ever have to bury their child. She should have been there for the rest of my life. Brianna had plans for her future that we will never have the opportunity to support her with. She wanted to go to college and study beauty therapy; she was looking forward to being old enough to have a job like her big sister. We had also talked about teaching her how to drive, and she had even picked out which pink car she would like for her 18th birthday.

When I think back to the good memories we made together, it hurts so much because she is no longer here to remember them with me, and we will never get the chance to make more memories together. Instead, the last memories I carry with me are those of hearing the news that my child had been found dead; memories of identifying Brianna's lifeless body; memories of her funeral; And now to add to that, memories of the trial in which the two people responsible for Brianna's death cowardly pointed fingers at each other, showing no remorse and only interested in defending themselves.

Our lives have been completely changed by this crime. I tried to go back to work weeks after Brianna's death, but returning to my normal lifestyle only made it clear that she wasn't with us. I drove home knowing she wouldn't be there when I arrived. As a result, I haven't worked since March. Brianna's sister, Alisha, chooses to stay with her boyfriend most of the time because she feels so much sadness at home. It's so quiet without Brianna, and this is unbearable for her. Brianna was murdered when Alisha was at university, studying for her second year of A-levels. Alisha has always been a promising student who enjoyed learning and achieving, but she has fallen on hard times and has decided to stop studying for the time being. She has lost confidence in her abilities due to the time away from dealing with her grief, and I worry that the trauma Alisha has experienced could have a negative impact on the rest of her life.

I believe that both Scarlett and Eddie continue to pose a danger to society. Their behavior has had a huge impact on my family and I would never want them to have the opportunity to act out their sadistic fantasies on another vulnerable person. As I said, I have another daughter and one day I will hopefully have grandchildren. I want to help make society a safer place for them to grow up, and the thought of Scarlett and Eddie being released from prison absolutely terrifies me. I don't believe someone so deranged and obsessed with murder and torture could ever be rehabilitated. I have moments where I feel sorry for them because they ruined their own lives too, but I have to remember that they felt no empathy for Brianna when they left her bleeding after their premeditated and brutal attack, which was not carried out. because Brianna had done something wrong, but just because one person hated trans people and the other thought it would be fun.”