The four teenagers accused of brutally stabbing a transgender girl 14 times will stand trial in January next year.
Summer Betts-Ramsey, 19, is accused of attempted murder and possession of an offensive weapon in the stabbing of the unnamed 18-year-old victim in the northwest London district of Wealdstone on the evening of February 10.
Related:
Transgender teen stabbed 14 times in a park while attackers shouted slurs
The 18-year-old victim was attacked while at a roller-skating party.
Betts-Ramsey was charged along with a 16-year-old girl and two teenage boys, both 17, who are all accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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Prosecutors characterize the incident as a “brutal, unprovoked transphobic hate crime.”
The transgender victim was attacked on her way to a roller-skating birthday party, and subjected to transphobic slurs as she was stabbed, prosecutors told the court.
She was rushed to hospital following the attack at around 7 p.m. on a Saturday, and released the following Monday.
Following the arrests of the accused, Detective Inspector Nicola Hannant said in a statement, “This was a shocking and violent attack and we continue to support the victim and her family as she recovers from her injuries.”
Betts-Ramsey has denied any involvement in the brutal assault.
The accused 16-year-old girl also faces charges of robbery of a handbag and possession of cannabis. One of the boys is accused of disclosing sexual images and threatening the alleged victim with a knife to the genitals two weeks prior to the attack.
All four remain in police custody and will appear in court again in April to enter pleas.
The judge announced a January 6, 2025 trial date at a Tuesday hearing for Betts-Ramsey and the second female charged. All four of the accused will be tried together.
The attack came almost exactly one year to the day after another transgender teen, 16-year-old Brianna Ghey, was brutally stabbed to death by two teenagers in a park in the Northwest of England. That case transfixed the nation for a year before Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 15 at the time of the killing, were sentenced to life in prison for the shocking “joint enterprise murder.”
Ghey was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife purchased by Ratcliffe on a ski trip.
Jenkinson admitted that she “intended to take parts of Brianna’s body as a token” but failed to do so before the killers were interrupted by a couple walking their dog.
She had previously told Ratcliffe she wanted to keep Brianna’s “pretty eyes.”