Brianna Ghey: Sheffield Peace Gardens to host vigil for allegedly murdered teen

Following the tragic death of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey on Saturday in Culcheth, Warrington, a vigil is to take place at 8pm on Thursday, February 16 in Sheffield's Peace Gardens. Police have charged two 15-year-olds, a boy and a girl, with the murder of Brianna, with both to appear in Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday. Investigating officers at Cheshire Police initially said there was no evidence that Brianna's killing was related to her being transgender, but on Tuesday detectives said a hate crime was now a possibility being explored.

Brianna’s heartbroken family, who are from Birchwood in Warrington, described her as "beautiful, witty and hilarious", with a “larger-than-life character”. They said: "The loss of her young life has left a massive hole in our family, and we know that the teachers and her friends who were involved in her life will feel the same."

Brianna was found lying on a path with stab wounds in Linear Park by members of the public who called emergency services at around 3pm. A postmortem is to be carried out to determine her cause of death.

It was reported that she posted on TikTok, where she had over 60,000 followers, just hours before the attack. A number of vigils are being held in cities across the country to grieve and show solidarity with the transgender community.

The organisers of the Peace Gardens’ vigil, Sheffield Solidarity Group, told Now Then magazine that they have organised the event to “show respect to a member of our community let down by our country, government and society at large that has let transphobes, homophobes and bigots organise to spread hatred and fear.”

Olivia Blake, MP for Sheffield Hallam, wrote a tribute on Twitter: “All my thoughts are with Brianna Ghey’s friends and family. She was obviously a very loved young woman who touched so many lives and will be missed by many.”

Expressing his rage at hate crime, Reverend and the Makers called for an end to gender and sexuality-based violence. He said: “Will never ever understand folk getting all upset and angry about someone else’s gender or sexuality. Leave people alone to be who they wanna be.”

For those unable to make the vigil, the organisers will be live-streaming it on their Instagram: @sheffsolgroup.