A boy and a girl have been found guilty of the “frenzied” murder of teenager Brianna Ghey.

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

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons have been identified only as girl X and boy Y.

They are both now aged 16 but 15 at the time, had denied murder and each blamed the other for the killing of the transgender teenager, described as “horrific” by detectives.

Intelligent, “high functioning” and coming from normal backgrounds, the trial heard the pair had a fascination for violence, torture and murder and had planned the killing for weeks, detailed in a handwritten murder plan and phone messages found by detectives.

A jury of seven men and five women convicted the two following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court.

Boy Y has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and is non-verbal and girl X has traits of autism and ADHD.

Trial Judge Mrs Justice Yip is now to discuss with counsel when the defendants, both facing mandatory jail terms for life, will be sentenced.