Two boys, aged 13, have been sentenced to a minimum of eight years and six months for the brutal murder of 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton, marking them as the UK’s youngest convicted knife murderers. The boys, who were both 12 years old at the time of the crime, launched a vicious machete attack on Seesahai in a park on November 13 last year. The crime has drawn comparisons to the infamous case of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, who were both 11 when they were convicted of murdering two-year-old James Bulger in 1993.
The Attack
Seesahai, whose family hails from the small Caribbean island of Anguilla, was ambushed by the two young boys as he walked through a Wolverhampton park. According to court testimony, the attackers punched, kicked, and stamped on Seesahai before repeatedly slashing him with a machete. His injuries included severe wounds to his back, legs, and skull, with a 20-centimeter-deep stab wound to his heart being the fatal blow.
Prosecutors revealed that the attackers “engaged in a joint attack upon a man who had done nothing wrong, a man with no weapon, who was utterly defenseless on the ground.” Despite their attempts to shift the blame onto each other, both were found equally culpable for the murder.
Aftermath of the Crime
In the days following the attack, one of the boys cleaned his machete with bleach and concealed it under his bed. Chilling social media messages recovered by investigators showed a callous attitude, with the boy writing, “it is what it is” and “idrc” (I don’t really care).
Both boys were convicted of murder, with one admitting possession of the murder weapon. During the trial, it emerged that one of the boys had been groomed by older youths in the community, while the other had no previous history of criminal behavior. Their defense teams emphasized the boys’ age and vulnerability, with Rachel Brand KC, defending one of the attackers, stating that the boy “wishes he hadn’t taken the machete out with him.”
Seesahai Family’s Grief and Anguish
The sentencing has brought little solace to Seesahai’s grieving parents. Speaking from Anguilla’s Crocus Bay, where they scattered their son’s ashes, his mother, Manashwary Seesahai, told Sky News that she was shocked at the young age of her son’s killers.
“I felt shocked they’re so young, they’re so small, and they did something like that,” she said. “From the time I see them, I get angry because of what they did to my son.”
The Seesahai family had planned to move to the UK to be closer to their son and send his younger sister to school there. However, his murder shattered those dreams. Mrs. Seesahai now says she is too afraid to bring her daughter to the UK.
Reflecting on the future that was stolen from them, Mr. Seesahai expressed the depth of their loss: “In time to come he would’ve married, had kids, we would’ve had grandchildren and enjoy our grandkids and nothing like that anymore.”
Calls for Tougher Sentencing
The Seesahai family has called for harsher sentencing for knife-related crimes, stating that the eight-year sentence handed to the boys is insufficient for such a horrific act. “Murder is murder,” said Seesahai’s father, Suresh. “They didn’t kill my son the way that someone should be killed. They murdered him, they chopped him, they beat him… they do a monstrous job to him.”
The family hopes that Seesahai’s death serves as a warning to other young people to think twice before carrying a weapon. “You have to have proper sentencing for knife crime,” Mr. Seesahai urged. “Think about what you’re doing.”
Ongoing Debate on Juvenile Crime
The case has reignited the debate on how to handle juvenile crime in the UK, especially when it involves such extreme violence. While the court maintained reporting restrictions that prevent the boys from being identified due to their age, many are questioning whether the current legal framework is adequate for addressing the rising trend of knife crime among minors.
Credit: Sky News
