James Bulger’s mother believes Brianna Ghey’s teenage killers should be identified because her parents ‘need a picture to the name’.

The 16-year-old schoolgirl was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in the head, neck, chest and back after being lured to Linear Park, Culcheth, a village near Warrington, Cheshire, on the afternoon of February 11.

Her killers – identified only as Girl X and Boy Y – were both found guilty of murder and will be sentenced tomorrow. At that point, the judge has said restrictions on naming the two killers will be lifted.

It is rare that child convicts are named in public, only ever happening in the most shocking of cases, such as the savage murder of two-year-old James in 1993, which led to his killers Robert Thompson and John Venables being publicly identified.

Denise Fergus, Jamie’s mother, supported the judge’s decision to name Brianna’s killers, telling ITV news today: ‘I think they need a picture to the name. You can’t just have a name and not know what they look like. 

‘I wanted to know what James’ killers looked like. You want to see the faces that took your child away from you. You want to see the faces that spent the last few minutes with your child. I don’t think I would have been able to carry on not knowing what they looked like.

‘What’s the point in telling half a story? You want to know what these people look like that took this child’s life away.’ 

 James Bulger ‘s Denise Fergus mother believes Brianna Ghey told ITV News that Brianna Ghey’s parents need to see the faces of their daughter’s killers  

Brianna’s mother labelled her killers as ‘cowards’ for pointing the finger at each other

The savage murder of James Bulger in 1993 by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson was a crime that horrified the nation and left the two-year-old’s family utterly broken

Thompson and Venables faces are now instantly recognisable after their savage murder of baby James horrified the nation and left the two-year-old’s family utterly broken. 

In February 1993, the toddler was snatched from his mother at New Strand Shopping Centre in Bootle, Merseyside, after she took her eyes off him for a matter of seconds 

Thompson and Venables, then aged just ten, subjected James to a series of horrifying assaults before dropping a 22lb railway fishplate on his head.

More than 30 years later, Denise cannot believe Brianna’s family are having to go through the same heartbreak that she did. 

Follow every detail of the case on The Mail’s acclaimed podcast The Trial 

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She told the TV network: ‘It’s hardy for me to understand how this is still happening to this day. two kids have took a child’s life 

‘Anyone who has be in my circumstances, I feel so sorry for this family. They are now on a long journey without their child. To hear again that two kids have took not only a young girl’s life but also destroyed an entire families, like Thompson and Venables done with mine.’ 

Speaking last week, Brianna Ghey’s mother has revealed that she gets ’emotional’ when she thinks about the parents of her daughter’s killers, but said she wants the ‘cowardly’ teenagers to receive a life sentence.

Both killers denied murder and each blamed the other for the killing of the transgender teenager. 

Her mother, Esther Ghey, said that her daughter was ‘fearless’ as she said that having ‘my daughter home would be justice for me’. 

She told Good Morning Britain: ‘She was an absolute character, she was very outgoing, she loved attention. 

‘She was so funny and I miss her laughter as well. I even miss the grief that she gave me as teenagers do! We miss her so much.’ 

Speaking about the compassion that she has shown to the families of the two teenagers responsible for Brianna’s murder during the trial, she said: ‘I always get emotional when I think about the parents.

‘I saw how they were in court and how distraught they were when the verdict came through. I could see myself in them and the way that I felt when I heard that Brianna had been murdered. They’ve not only lost a child but they have to deal with knowing what’s happened for the rest of their life now.’

Pictured is 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, who died after being stabbed 28 times in February

Ms Ghey said she gets ’emotional’ when she thinks about the parents of her daughter’s killers, but said she wants the ‘cowardly’ teenagers to receive a life sentence

The trial heard how Brianna was found by dog walkers in Linear Park shortly after 3pm on Saturday, February 11. Her body was discovered face down in mud, having been stabbed to the head, neck, back and chest.

Her jugular vein had also been severed, causing ‘catastrophic blood loss’, while another knife blow penetrated Brianna’s heart. The teen was pronounced dead at the scene at 4.02pm.

During their trial, both of the teenagers attempted to wash their hands of the murder, blaming each other for Brianna’s killing and each telling the court that their backs were turned when the other defendant began plunging the knife into her.

Ms Ghey continued: ‘I think that I know as much as I need to know and the fact that they’ve been found guilty is as much as I need to know.’

Speaking about the pair pointing fingers at each other as they both plead not guilty she continued: ‘They’re cowards really and it shows the character of them.

‘Maybe if they had admitted it or shown some remorse I would feel some sympathy for them. But the fact that they both pointed the the finger and neither of them admitted anything and there was no emotion there… I don’t feel guilty that they’ve been sent to prison.’

And talking about their impending sentence, she backed a whole life term for the pair, adding: ‘As long as possible really. At this moment in time I don’t think there’s any rehabilitation.

‘So if not forever… I don’t know how I would feel further down the line if they did show any change in their behaviour.’

Speaking outside court previously, Brianna’s mother said she had ‘moments’ before the trial where she ‘felt sorry’ for the teenagers accused of the murder.

But after seeing neither of them display an ‘ounce of remorse’, she said: ‘Now, knowing the true nature and seeing neither display an ounce of remorse for what they have done to Brianna, I have lost all sympathy that I may have previously had for them. And I am glad that they will spend many years in prison and away from society.’

Brianna’s killers – identified only as Girl X and Boy Y, both now aged 16 but were 15 at the time of the attack – had denied murder

Ms Ghey (pictured outside of Manchester Crown Court) said she doesn’t feel guilty that the pair will be sent to prison

Officers later discovered a handwritten note detailing how they were going to murder her

Earlier, she recalled the horrific moment police told her Brianna had died. 

‘I sort of joked and said that if Brianna doesn’t come home soon I’ll probably have to ring the police,’ she told the BBC. I got to the front door and the front door was open and it was two policemen stood in the house.

‘And they said that they’d found a body and I remember the first thing that I said to him was that I knew, I knew, that something was going to happen.’

Now aged 16, the killers were spotted fleeing the scene before being arrested by cops barely 24 hours after hacking Brianna to death – with officers later discovering a chilling handwritten note detailing how they were going to murder her, headed: ‘Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey’.

Along with the plan to kill the 16-year-old, another note found in Girl X’s bedroom read: ‘Give them alcohol with sleeping pills, slit throat, dismember body, place pieces in bin bags.’

Following a trial of more than three weeks, both of Brianna’s killers were convicted of her murder. Girl X’s parents were in tears after the guilty verdicts were delivered, while Boy Y’s mother was also crying.

However, there was no visible reaction from the teenage killers, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Prior to the slaying, the court heard the pair plotted to kill Brianna, meeting the teenager at a bus stop before then going on to murder her.

Prosecutors argued the pair were ‘in it together’ from start to finish, right from planning the attack to attempting to cover their tracks afterwards.

Deanna Heer KC told jurors that in law it therefore did not matter which of the duo inflicted the fatal wounds.

But she said they may conclude it was more likely that Boy X was responsible for many or all of the blows.

Forensics officers walk into the park in Warrington to investigate in February 2022

Following the guilty verdicts, the Crown Prosecution Service released an image of the knife 

Richard Pratt KC, representing Girl X, said it was Boy Y who had been a kickboxer and knew how to deliver a punch and he suggested a ‘thrust’ with a knife.

For his part, Boy Y told police from the outset that he had been urinating behind a tree and turned around to see Girl X stabbing Brianna.

He stuck to his account while giving evidence in court – typing his answers due to what jurors were told is a diagnosis of ‘selective mutism’ following his arrest.

The jury was shown an alleged ‘murder plan’ on how to kill Brianna along with phone messages they exchanged, including a ‘kill list’ of other children they planned to harm.

Following the verdicts, Mrs Justice Yip told Girl X and Boy Y: ‘I’m sure you probably already know that I have to impose a life sentence.

‘What I will have to decide is the minimum amount of time you will be required to serve before you can be considered for release.

‘I am going to see what other steps need to be taken before I sentence.’