Murdered teen ‘spoke to thousands’ of strangers online daily

Brianna Ghey’s best friend, Emily, said she was worried about her and who she was talking to.

The best friend of a murdered teenager said she “talked to thousands” of strangers online. Brianna Ghey, from Warringtonwas just 16 when she was lured to Culcheth Linear Park by Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe.

The Birchwood Community High student was caught off guard and suffered 28 stab wounds on February 11 last year. His body was found in the park by residents walking their dogs. The two teenage perpetrators planned their gruesome act through frightening messages on WhatsAppmotivated by disturbing content from the dark web.

Since the devastating death of Brianna, her mother, Esther Ghey has pledged to campaign for mindfulness programs in schools and tighter restrictions on young people’s internet use. In her latest effort to raise awareness, the mother of two co-hosts a podcast called Parents vs. Parents. The Internet.

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Esther, a new product development technologist, collaborates with journalist Liz Hull for the ten-part series, discussing with various guests “how we can keep our children safe.” In the most recent episode, the podcast hosts speak with Brianna’s best friend, Emily Holden, as she shares her experiences with smartphone and social media addiction and the pressures of mental health.

The 17-year-old, who attended the same school as Brianna, said: “When someone mentions Brianna, the first thing that comes to mind is how beautiful she is. Her hair, makeup and fashion sense are instantly what you would think of. She always gave me advice on how to do my hair or makeup correctly.

“With Brianna, you would always see her on her phone; even when walking down the hall, the teachers still told him to get off. She would slip it into her pocket and it would come straight out. she would record TikToks the whole time you looked out the window and she was there recording them.

Emily then revealed how Brianna, who had a social media following, was talking to strangers online. Esther said she was always worried about it because of Brianna’s secretive nature.

She added: “She was always messaging someone. I remember asking her who she was messaging and I joked that I didn’t know she had that many friends, but she said she didn’t know who she was messaging. They could have been anyone. She said it wasn’t dangerous and it was innocent. She spoke to thousands of people who followed her and didn’t know her.

“I’ve always been worried about this. But she never talked much about what they talked about unless it was a friendly conversation. Brianna’s other friends had the same concerns.

Throughout the podcast, listeners discuss topics such as the responsibility of cell phone companies to protect children and how to configure phones to be suitable for different ages.

Esther previously thought her daughter Brianna would have been much happier without a smartphone in her later years. She said: “She was so protective of her phone. I really believe that, especially in the last years of Brianna’s life, it would have been much more peaceful and happier if the smartphone hadn’t been there in the first place .”

Esther said she started the podcast not to “alarm or scare” other parents, but rather to “educate” them. She admitted to not being fully aware of the content Brianna was accessing or its extent.

She added: “I wish I knew that, because when you are educated and you have that knowledge, only then can you actually make a change and you can help.” The podcast episode comes after Brianna’s killer, Eddie Ratcliffe, had his appeal rejected. You can read more about this here.