The mother of one of Brianna Kane's killers, Eddie Radcliffe, described him after the murder as “a good boy with good morals and a loving, caring family” who was on his way to applying to Oxford.
Brianna, 16, was stabbed to death in Warrington Park on February 11, 2023 in a “disgusting” and “exceptionally brutal” murder committed by Radcliffe and Scarlett Jenkinson, both 15 at the time.
Jenkinson was sentenced to 22 years in prison and Radcliffe to 20 years in February this year for stabbing Brianna in the head, neck, chest and back 28 times with a hunting knife.
At the inquest into the teenager's death, which is expected to begin on Wednesday and last three days, Cheshire's chief coroner, Jacqueline Devonish, read out Alice Hemmings' statement written shortly after the murder.
She described how her son “seemed normal” that day. “I asked him if he was having a good time and he said yes. I was chasing pokemon [on the mobile game Pokémon Go] and I had a ham and cheese baguette,” he said.
Describing her son as “very academic” and “doing well in school,” she added: “Eddie clearly knows right from wrong, right from wrong, and he doesn't take risks.”
The inquest heard from Brianna's mother, Esther Key, who described her as a “mischievous, fun and outgoing” girl who “fell into obscurity” in her teenage years after spending all her time on social media.
In a written statement, Ghey said her daughter followed self-harm and anorexia groups on X (formerly Twitter) and had been hospitalized for an eating disorder.
“At one point, I felt like if there was something negative in the world, she would hold on to it,” Key said.
He also recalled the day Briana was found murdered in Linear Park, a village in Culceth, near Warrington, Cheshire.
Nye said: “When the police came to the house I knew something like this was going to happen because it was such a dark time for everyone.
“I can't believe the change Brianna has gone through: When she was little, Brianna was a ball of excitement and joy, but in her later years she became enveloped in darkness. I feel like I'm mourning two different people.
Ghey has previously spoken about how tech companies have a “moral responsibility” to police harmful content online and believes Brianna would be alive if killers couldn't access violent videos.
The coroner cited comments from Jenkinson and Radcliffe's sentencing judge that transphobia was a partial motive.
Briana transitioned at 15 and, the inquest heard, was prescribed puberty blockers and estrogen at a private clinic because the NHS waiting list was four years long.
Briana's father, Peter Spooner, noted that after her transition, she went from being “very quiet, very shy” to becoming much more outgoing, and even sent him dance videos and makeup tutorials. “She seemed happy to me,” he said.
He initially did not support Briana in her transition, telling the court: “We fell out. She was angry with me. Obviously I thought he was gay and he didn't like what I told him. She got mad at me and said, 'I'm not gay, I'm trans,' and when she said that, I didn't know how to deal with it.
Spooner reconciled with his daughter months before his death and accepted his transition, adding, “I told her I was sorry for how I handled it.”
