Teen sentenced over death of Katniss Seleznev, 7, in Walsall
Katniss Seleznev, 7, died following a collision involving a stolen motorbike in Walsall.
Last updated 22nd May 2024
A 15-year-old has today been sentenced after admitting to causing death by dangerous driving, which killed seven-year-old Katniss Seleznev in Walsall.
The teenager was riding a stolen motorbike at speeds of up to 52mph when he hit and killed the seven year old.
Katniss Seleznev was thrown around 20 metres when she was hit as the boy, who cannot be named due to his age, rode a blue Suzuki motorbike on Turnstone Road, Walsall, on the evening of July 27 last year.
The court heard how Katniss, dressed in a pink T-shirt and denim shorts and riding a pink three-wheeled scooter, was just metres from her home as she played outside with her twin brother and her older sister when she was hit on the 30mph residential road.
The boy, who is now 15 but was 14 at the time, looked solemn in the dock. Dressed in a blue hooded top and black trousers, he kept his head down.
The youth did not stop at the scene, instead returning to a nearby road before hiding the bike, which was later found burnt, in some bushes.
After his arrest, the boy gave no comment answers in interview, but pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at Wolverhampton Magistrates' Court in April.
The teenager has been sentenced to over five years detention, half of which will be served on licence.
He has also been disqualified from driving for five years.
Addressing Katniss's parents in the public gallery, the judge added: "It is one of the most appalling things to have to bury your own child and I cannot begin to understand the impact that has occasioned her family, not least her twin brother and her sister."
In a statement read to the court, written by Katniss's father Bojil, their youngest daughter was described as "full of joy" and a "dream child".
It added that Katniss and her twin brother were born after the couple "fought for five years" through multiple miscarriages and IVF rounds.
It said: "God finally gave them to us. Then Katniss was left to die like an animal in the street.
"Time isn't going to heal this loss. We shouldn't have outlived our child."
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