Detectives investigating the murder of 16-year-old Brianna Ghey have said they are now considering whether it could have been a hate crime.
The teenager, from Birchwood in Warrington, Cheshire, was found by members of the public as she lay wounded on a path in Linear Park, Culcheth, at around 3.13pm on Saturday.
Cheshire Police previously said there was no evidence to suggest Brianna, who was a transgender girl, was the victim of a hate crime.
But on Tuesday, the force issued a statement which said all lines of inquiry were being explored, “including whether this was a hate crime”.
A boy and a girl, both aged 15, were arrested on suspicion of Brianna’s murder and detectives have been granted an extension of 30 hours to further question the two suspects, police said.
READ MORE: Hillwalker dies after fall near summit of munro
A GoFundMe crowdfunding page set up to help the schoolgirl’s family has passed £70,000 in donations just one day after it was set up.
More than 4,500 people from 41 different countries have contributed to the fundraising efforts, GoFundMe confirmed.
Candlelit vigils, organised by members of the transgender community, are set to take place across the UK in memory of the teenager, including in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
On Thursday, mourners will gather in George Square in Glasgow from 7pm.
The following day, people will father in Edinburgh's Bristo Square to pay tribute to the young girl.
On Saturday, a candlelit vigil is due to take place at Marischal College, Broad Street in Aberdeen.
In a tribute issued after Brianna’s death on behalf of her family, the teenager was described as a “much-loved daughter, granddaughter, and baby sister”.
The statement continued: “She was a larger-than-life character who would leave a lasting impression on all that met her.
“Brianna was beautiful, witty and hilarious.
“Brianna was strong, fearless and one of a kind.
“The loss of her young life has left a massive hole in our family, and we know that the teachers and her friends who were involved in her life will feel the same.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here