Two young boys handed life sentences for 'random' machete murder in Wolverhampton

Two 13-year-old boys - who can't be named for legal reasons - have today been sentenced for murdering a man in Wolverhampton.

Britain's youngest knife murderers, who were aged 12 when they killed Shawn Seesahai with a machete, have both been sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to life with a minimum term of eight years and six months.

The attack happened on Stowlawn playing fields 13 November last year.

Both youths were allowed to leave the dock and sit in the back row of the court benches on Friday as High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples began her sentencing by acknowledging the sentence being passed would be no comfort to the victim's family.

"You intended to kill him"

The judge told the boys: "When you killed Shawn he was 19, starting out in his adult life with everything to live for.

"His parents have lost their son. His sister has lost her brother.

"What you did is horrific and shocking. You did not know Shawn, he was a stranger to you. You both killed Shawn in an attack that lasted less than a minute when he asked you to move (from a bench).

"I am sure you intended to kill him."

The judge added that she could not be sure which of the boys had inflicted a 23cm-deep wound which almost passed all the way through Mr Seesahai's body.

In a victim impact statement read to the sentencing hearing, the family of Mr Seesahai said they are haunted by thoughts of how scared he must have been when he was killed.

A Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said the two killers "should have been enjoying their childhood rather than arming themselves with a machete and killing an innocent person".

"Groomed and exploited"

Explaining her reasons for the length of the minimum terms after the boys were taken down to begin their sentences of detention, High Court judge Mrs Justice Tipples said the murder was aggravated by the fact it was an attack involving two offenders.

Mitigating factors included the fact the "spur-of-the-moment attack" was not premeditated, and the young age of the defendants, who were told they will remain in separate secure units where they were held on remand during their trial.

The "extremely vulnerable" first defendant, who admitted buying the murder weapon from a friend for £40 around a month before the attack, had been "groomed and exploited" by others, the court heard.

The judge said the first defendant had had "very many adverse childhood experiences" including falling victim to exploitation by criminals and "multiple traumas" in childhood for which he was not responsible.

"I agree with the authors of the (pre-sentence) report that he does not at this stage have the maturity to fully appreciate the consequences of his actions," the judge added.

The court heard the second defendant had a supportive and loving relationship with his parents and was not previously known to the police.

"Horrifically cruel"

Jonathan Roe said: "As prosecutors, we often deal with harrowing cases, but this case is particularly distressing due to the complete senselessness and devastating consequences of the defendants' actions.

"The defendants at the age of 12 should have been enjoying their childhood rather than arming themselves with a machete and killing an innocent person.

"Shawn Seesahai lost his life in a horrifically cruel way.

"I hope today's sentencing serves as a reminder of the dangers of carrying machetes.

Relatives of Anguilla-born Mr Seesahai described his murder as tragic, unexpected and senseless, and having been committed "for no reason at all".

Both boys blamed the other for inflicting four wounds with the machete, after a dispute with the victim about sitting on a park bench.

One of the boys admitted possession of the knife prior to the trial, while the other was found guilty of the same charge when they were both unanimously convicted of murder on 10 June.

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