They have been known so far as Girl X and Boy Y but unless a ruling by their trial judge Mrs Justice Yip is successfully appealed, the two killers of Brianna Ghey will be named at Manchester crown court on 2 February at their sentencing for murder. Ghey, a 16-year-old transgender girl, was stabbed 28 times in a Warrington park in an attack that had involved significant planning. Her killers had targeted a different child initially but abandoned those plans after failing to lure him to Culcheth Linear Park. The pair then switched their murderous focus. They were 15 at the time of the crime and are 16 now. Until the sentencing, reporters will seek to fill their notebooks with the inside story of how it was these two young people came to commit such a ghastly crime. Friends, family and acquaintances of Girl X and Boy Y will be approached for interviews. Money may even exchange hands as the tabloids compete for the most sensational accounts, although in these straitened times the sums will pale in comparison with those of yesteryear. It is yet to be seen whether there will be restrictions put on the publication of photographs of the killers, but those that are available will be hoovered up in preparation. It is not the usual run of things. Under section 45 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999, children and young people charged with crimes are usually granted the protection of reporting restrictions, preventing their identity being published until they reach the age of 18. That such restrictions are to be lifted in this case is a testament to the barbarity of the crime committed and the concomitant urgent public interest in an informed debate about how we got here. When making such an “excepting direction”, a judge has to be convinced that the interests of the public in the full reporting of criminal proceedings outweigh the desirability of avoiding additional harm to the convicted child. Most famously, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 10 years old, were named after their conviction in 1993 of the abduction, torture and murder of two-year-old James Bulger. As in the Bulger case, the naming of Girl X and Boy Y will undoubtedly fuel interest in those responsible for the murder, potentially lead to them being targeted while in custody, and will undoubtedly have a huge impact on their mental health. Girl X has traits of autism and ADHD, the court heard, while Boy Y has been diagnosed as having autism and selective mutism. But as with Thompson and Venables, the names of the killers are already well-known in the communities within which they live. Their names have been shared on social media. Death threats have already been made. The killers’ names would have been made public property in just two years’ time when they reach the age of 18. The judge came to the conclusion that the informed debate that must be had about the murder of Brianna may as well be had now. “Full and accurate reporting of the proceedings serves an important purpose in assisting public understanding”, Yip said in Thursday’s judgment. The lifting of the reporting restrictions is only being delayed until sentencing as a consequence of the timing. Girl X and Boy Y will need to be fully supported by the youth offending teams as their identities are revealed but it is now the festive period. Delaying the naming until the new year will give those responsible some time to prepare. In custody it is to be expected that Girl X and Boy Y will be given new identities, as was the case with Thompson and Venables, who were then given lifetime anonymity in 2001 when they reached adulthood. It is likely that those acting for Girl X and Boy Y will seek the same protections. It is hoped the informed debate will have been had by then and that the lessons will be learned. “The public will naturally wish to know the identities of the young people responsible as they seek to understand how children could do something so dreadful,” Yip said.