Teenage murderer Scarlett Jenkinson gave away a major red flag she was lying about what she had done in arrest footage, a body language expert has claimed.
The 16-year-old was unmasked as 'Girl X' on Friday after she, along with 'Boy Y' Eddie Ratcliffe, faced sentencing for stabbing Brianna Ghey 28 times in Culcheth Linear Park in Warrington, Cheshire last year. Serial killer-obsessed Ratcliffe had been 'fascinated' by the fact Brianna was transgender, the court had heard throughout an 18-day trial which ultimately resulted in the two of them being found guilty in December.
Various CCTV footage and photographs taken for evidence during the murder investigation was released to the public on Friday. This included chilling footage from the police station where Jenkinson was quizzed by detectives over the murder.
The then-15-year-old, who had asked officers "how come I am a suspect?" when arrested, gives away major tell-tale signs of her guilt during the interview, according to body language expert Judi James. She told The Mirror that, while appearing confident while being questioned, her eye movement is a major giveaway of her guilt.
"Scarlett Jenkinson is more alert than Ratcliffe here and looking more communicative," Judi said. "Her lips are sucked in at the start of the clip to suggest reluctance and her posture is slumped but she engages with eye contact more than Ratcliffe and signals she is listening and taking part in a conversation, so a suggestion of her being more confident here.
"She uses nodding to suggest agreements and some of her nodding gestures appear to be aimed at gaining empathy or understanding from the interviewer. Her hands are under the desk and partly hidden but she is clearly holding something that she appears to be playing with to suggest nervousness or anxiety."
Judi added: "Her thumbs seem to be working at whatever she is holding, which could be a self-comfort mimicry gesture if she is missing holding and using her phone. There is also a suggestion of a leg judder, which again would suggest nerves. She seems to look down to answer questions though, which is a cut-off gesture to hide the eyes. It can often be associated with lying but not in every case."
The identities of the Jenkinson and Ratcliffe were originally protected under law due to them being juveniles. But judge Mrs Justice Yip opted to lift this on Friday declaring there was a strong public interest in their names being made public. Both defendants are expected to be given life sentences at Manchester crown court.
Jenkinson, from Warrington, and Ratcliffe, from Leigh, Greater Manchester, both claimed they were innocent and blamed each other for inflicting the fatal blows. But at the start of sentencing on Friday, the court heard Jenkinson had admitted for the first time stabbing Brianna.
Deanna Heer KC, prosecuting, told the court the 16-year-old had been seen by a psychiatrist after she was convicted of murder last December and made "admissions". She said: "She said Eddie had thrown Brianna to the floor and stabbed her three or four times then he panicked and said he did not want to kill her, so she carried on and stabbed her a number of times. When asked how many, she answered, 'A lot.' She was satisfied and excited by what she was doing."