Ginger Puppy / Brianna Ghey Murder

Content Warning: The following entry contains graphic material.

Overview

Ginger Puppy's Murder or Brianna Ghey's Murder refers to the killing of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, a transgender girl who went by @gingerpuppyx on TikTok, in Warrington, Cheshire, England. Ghey was found presumably stabbed to death in a park in Warrington on February 11th, 2023. Two 15-year-old suspects, a boy and girl, were arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after. The murder was widely discussed online, especially on TikTok, where videos from her now-removed TikTok account were shared along with messages of condolence. Some videos claim that Ghey's murder was a hate crime and that she was killed for being transgender, however, the police initially claimed there was no evidence to suggest this, a claim that was doubted by some online. Following her murder, some alleged students and friends of Ghey's stated she was bullied at school for being trans. On February 14th, it was then reported that the murder was being investigated as a potential hate crime. On February 15th, the 15-year-old suspects were reportedly charged with murder.

Background

On February 12th, 2023, the Denbighshire Free Press^[1] reported on the death of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, writing that she was found wounded on a path in Linear Park, Culcheth on that past Saturday, February 11th at 3:13 p.m. She was reportedly pronounced dead at the scene. Two local 15-year-olds, a boy and girl, were subsequently arrested as suspects.

That day, the official Warrington Police Twitter^[2] account, @PoliceWarr, tweeted a photograph of Ghey, announcing the arrest of the two suspects, garnering over 4,500 likes and 1,400 quote tweets in two days (shown below).

Developments

Initial Police Statement, Claims Ghey Was Bullied

On February 13th, 2023, The Guardian^[3] reported on the murder, claiming that Ghey was transgender, but that the police spokesperson said that there is "nothing to suggest" that fact is relevant to the murder, quoted as saying, "There is no evidence to suggest that the circumstances surrounding Brianna’s death are hate related." It was also reported that a postmortem found multiple stab wounds on Ghey and that, while the 15-year-olds were being investigated, the police had also put out an appeal to talk with a "white man and woman in their late teens or early 20s" who were seen in the park that day.

That day, the Daily Mail^[10] reported that Ghey was allegedly the victim of bullying at school, reporting that some of her school friends alleged on social media that she was "bullied and gang beaten" at school for being trans. The Sun^[11] reported that days before she was murdered, she allegedly posted a video to her TikTok account @gingerpuppyx captioned, "got excluded from school." On February 14th, 2023, the BBC^[4] reported on candlelight vigils being held for Ghey across the U.K.

Investigation As Hate Crime

On February 14th, 2023, Independent^[12] reported that the murder was now being investigated as a potential hate crime. The report claims that police were granted 30 additional hours to question the two 15-year-old suspects and that "all lines of enquiry are being explored, including whether this was a hate crime." The report also urges people to avoid online speculation.

Suspects Charged With Murder

On February 15th, 2023, CNN^[13] reported that the two unnamed 15-year-old suspects were charged with murder. A motive was not reported.

Online Reactions

Ghey's murder was widely discussed and mourned online. On February 12th, 2023, the day of the murder, Twitter^[5] user @MeowJules_ posted a photo of Ghey, writing, "One of my trans friends was tragically murdered.. I’m literally lost for words.. she was only 16," garnering over 139,000 likes in two days (shown below). That day, @stonewalluk on Twitter,^[6] the official account for Stonewall UK, an LGBTQ+ rights charity, shared their condolences for Ghey.

On February 13th, YouTuber Drama Kween posted a video about the murder titled, "Brianna Ghey: The Girl Targeted for her Identity," garnering over 17,000 views in under 24 hours. In the video, she says she finds it "hard to believe" that it wasn't a hate crime despite the police initially claiming it does not appear to be. Drama Kween uses reports that she was allegedly bullied for being trans as evidence of her beliefs.

'Ginger Puppy' TikTok Reactions

Brianna Ghey was active on TikTok under the username @gingerpuppyx. In the days following her death, TikTokers discovered her account and started reposting her videos, compilations of her videos and edits of the videos along with mournful captions. Her account was made unavailable on an unknown date. On February 13th, 2023, TikToker^[7] @haerinsstar posted a video of Ghey that gained over 3.1 million views in a day (shown below, left).

On the same day, TikToker^[8] @.brianna.rip posted a video that gained over 1.3 million views in under 24 hours (shown below, right). The video, along with others,^[9] claims that Ghey was murdered because she was transgender, however, this is unproven, with police initially claiming there is no evidence that Ghey's murder was a hate crime. On February 14th, police began to investigate the murder as a potential hate crime.

Transphobic Reporting / Deadnaming

As the story continued to grow, several users called out reporters for deadnaming Ghey in their reporting and for being generally transphobic in response to her murder. On February 12th, 2023, Twitter^[16] user @iris_frs made a post claiming the Daily Mail deadnamed her and contacted her dentist to get her deadname, garnering over 48,000 likes in three days (shown below, left). On February 13th, Twitter^[17] user @trans_safety shared archived versions of a story by The Sunday Times that deadnames Ghey, garnering over 12,000 likes in two days (shown below, right). The Sunday Times later removed the use of her deadname.

ValidLs' Transphobic Reaction

On February 13th, 2023, Twitter^[14] gimmick account @ValidLs replied to a now-deleted tweet with a photoshop of a headstone deadnaming Ghey with an assumed deadname, garnering over 1,300 likes in two days. The post was largely criticized online as transphobic (shown below), inspiring some to call for @ValidLs ban from the platform and share further evidence of the account being transphobic, such as replying to posts about Ghey's murder with the cigarette Emoji, a reference to the smoking on that pack meme.^[15]

Search Interest

External References