In this edition: manhunt following alkali attack in London, Brianna Ghey’s killers named, sentencing in Ryan Watson case
A manhunt is underway in London after a man threw an unknown alkali substance over a woman and her two young children.
The attack was captured on CCTV footage, which shows the man running around and getting into a car. The attack continues to take place inside before he takes a child out of the car and is seen to slam it against the ground multiple times.
Police report that the 31-year-old woman and her 3-year-old child are facing life-changing - but not life-threatening - injuries, while her 8-year-old is also in hospital. Four members of the public were injured while coming to their aid and three were taken to hospital for treatment, while five police officers also needed treatment.
The suspect has been named as Abdul Shokoor Ezedi. He is currently on the run and police ask any members of the public who see him to immediately get in touch. The below images show 1) Ezedi’s photograph and 2) an image from CCTV after the attack, showing him with significant injuries to the side of his face and eye. This injury should make him stand out in public.
If you see this man, call 999 or contact the incident room directly on 0207 175 27841.
The killers of Brianna Ghey have been named as their sentencing proceeds.
The two 15-year-olds, at the time of the attack, had been referred to as Girl X and Boy Y during court proceedings. They stabbed Ghey, a transgender 16-year-old girl, twenty-eight times in a park in Cheshire before trying to pretend they were not involved. They sent each other text messages pretending to hear about the attack and expressing surprise, and even texted Brianna’s phone to infer they had no idea she had been killed2. It also transpired that Girl X had attempted to poison Brianna with an overdose of painkillers before her eventual murder.
The pair have now been named as Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both now 163, ahead of their sentencing.
Jenkinson had kept a list of people she wanted to kill, and considered Brianna to be the easiest first target. According to her own account, Ratcliffe became scared after inflicting the first stab wounds and stated that he did not want to kill Brianna, after which Jenkinson took over.
Last time, I updated you on the Ryan Watson case.
Today, Alice Wood was jailed for a minimum of 18 years for his murder.
The sentencing judge, Michael Leeming, said: “Prison may be hard for you, Alice Wood, but you only have yourself to blame for the situation you now find yourself in.”
That’s all for today. Please provide any tips or updates you wish to see included in future updates in the comments, and like this post if you want to see more like it.
https://news.met.police.uk/news/update-manhunt-after-corrosive-substance-thrown-in-lambeth-478845
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-67727331
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/feb/02/brianna-ghey-murderers-named-sentenced-to-life-in-prison