The two individuals who killed a stranger with a machete at the age of 12, making them the youngest knife murders in Britain, have been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum of eight and a half years, reports RTE.
The murderers, who are both from Wolverhampton, England, were found guilty in June of killing 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai. On November 13 of last year, Shawn was stabbed in the heart and broke in half at the Stowlawn playing fields of the city.
They are thought to be the youngest offenders convicted of murder in the UK since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, both 11 years old, were found guilty in 1993 of killing two-year-old James Bulger. They were referred to as “the youngest knife murderers” before Nottingham Crown Court yesterday, reports RTE.
The identities of Mr. Seesahai’s murderers, who are now 13 years old, are protected by a court order of anonymity.
The two young people were released from the dock and seated in the rear section of the court benches today. High Court judge Mrs. Justice Tipples started the sentencing process by stating that the victim’s family would not find solace in the term that was imposed.
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,” reports RTE.
The judge went on to say that she was unsure who of the boys had caused the 23-cm-deep incision that nearly went through Mr. Seesahai’s torso.
The family of Mr. Seesahai stated in a victim impact statement delivered at the sentencing hearing that they are plagued by memories of how terrified he must have been at the time of his death, reports RTE.
Mr. Seesahai was born in Anguilla, and his family said that his murder was terrible, senseless, and unexpected, and that it was carried out “for no reason at all”.
Following an argument about sitting on a park seat, the two lads accused each other of using a machete to inflict four wounds, reports RTE.
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