The teenager responsible for the “sadistic” killing of Brianna Ghey is a “good child” and was headed to Oxbridge before being jailed for life, an inquest heard.
Alice Hemmings, the mother of Eddie Ratcliffe, said in a statement read at the inquest into Brianna’s death at Warrington Coroner’s Court that her son had “good morals.”
She said: “Eddie is a good child, with good morals and a loving, caring family behind him.
“Eddie clearly knows right and wrong, good and bad and is not a risk taker.”
Ratcliffe, along with Scarlett Jenkinson, were both aged just 15 when they planned and carried out the “exceptionally brutal” murder of Brianna, 16.
She was lured to Culcheth Linear Park on the afternoon on February 11 last year and stabbed 28 times with Ratcliffe’s hunting knife.
Both were jailed for life for murder after a trial at Manchester Crown Court last year.
The trial heard Jenkinson and Ratcliffe had a fascination for violence, torture and murder and a “thirst for killing”.
Ratcliffe’s mother made two statements, read to the inquest, both made after her son’s arrest and before his trial.
She told how she drove her son to Culcheth to meet with Jenkinson and Brianna on the afternoon of the murder.
“During (the) journey he was constantly checking his phone,” Ms Hemming said. “He seemed to be tense and moody, not like him at all.
“I don’t know why but I felt uneasy on this day.”
Ms Hemming also described her son, saying he had never been in trouble at school and was conscientious with his studies.
She said he does not drink, smoke or take drugs and was focused on his exams, eventually passing eight GCSEs, and had been planning to study microbiology at university.
Ms Hemming said her son had also been invited to a local college for students who had predicted grades that would get them into Oxford or Cambridge.
But she also described his other characteristics, saying he has “a lot of autistic traits” including certain routines he sticks to around food and clothes.
“He spends a lot of time alone in his room,” she added.
“He does struggle to express himself. He’s very shy and lacks confidence. He finds it difficult to show his emotions.
“He’s a sensitive character. He’s a very caring person.”
The inquest continues.
