THE family of the girl convicted of murdering Brianna Ghey has released a statement.

Scarlett Jenkinson was found guilty of murdering Brianna Ghey, alongside Eddie Ratcliffe – they were found guilty in December, but could not be named until today.

They were previously referred to as Girl X and Boy Y, and could not be named as they are under-18.

Presiding over the murder trial, Mrs Justice Yip has now lifted the restrictions on naming the two teenage murderers.

Scarlett Jenkinson has been imprisoned for a minimum of 22 years, and Eddie Ratcliffe will serve a minimum term of 20 years.

Releasing a statement exclusively to the Warrington Guardian, the family of Scarlett Jenkinson said: “All of our thoughts are for Brianna and her family.

“The last 12 months have been beyond our worst nightmares as we have come to realise the brutal truth of Scarlett’s actions.

“We agree with the jury's verdict, the judge's sentence and the decision to name the culprits.

“Our lives are in turmoil, but our immediate focus is to make sure that we don’t do anything against the wishes of Brianna’s family.

“For that reason, we have set up the email address GirlXMedia@Gmail.com to help coordinate media enquiries.

“We ask journalists to send all enquiries to this mailbox and we respectfully ask you not to contact family members directly.

“We offer our sincere thanks to Esther Ghey for her incredible selflessness and empathy towards our family. Her compassion is overwhelming and we are forever grateful.

“To all of Brianna’s family and friends, our community and everyone else that has been affected by this horror, we are truly sorry.”