Two 12-year-old boys who hacked an innocent teenager to death with a machete in a completely random and unprovoked attack could face longer prison sentences as an attempt to extend their sentences is expected to be considered by the Court of Appeal.
The two boys were given life sentences with a minimum term of eight and a half years for the murder of 19-year-old Shawn Seesahai in Wolverhampton last year.
The defendants, now 13, were both 12 at the time and were described as the country's “youngest knife murderers” when they were sentenced in September.
They are believed to be the youngest defendants to be convicted of murder in the UK since Robert Thompson and Jon Venables were found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger in 1993 when they were just 11.
The Attorney General's Office (AG0) confirmed in November that it had referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal, saying it was “unduly lenient”.
The hearing before Lord Justice William Davis, Mr Justice Bennathan and Justice Nicholas Dean KC is scheduled to begin at 10.30am today at the Royal Courts of Justice.
Shawn Seesahai was stabbed in the heart and lungs and suffered a fractured skull in the attack at Stowlawn Playing Fields in East Park. One of the wounds he sustained was 9 inches deep and almost went through his body.
Both boys pleaded not guilty to murder and accused the other of inflicting four wounds with a 16-inch machete on November 13 last year.
Shawn Seesahai, 19, was stabbed in the heart and suffered a fractured skull last November
CCTV footage showed Shawn Seesahai's final moments as he walked into the park
One of the teenagers admitted possessing the knife before his trial at Nottingham Crown Court and the other was found guilty of the same charge when both were unanimously convicted of murder in June.
Supreme Court judge Ms Justice Tipples had ruled that the defendants should be protected by anonymity orders, saying their welfare outweighed the wider public interest in open justice and unfettered reporting.
Sentencing the couple, she said the murder was “horrific and shocking” and that Mr Seesahai had “everything to live for”.
The unreasonably lenient sentence system allows relatives, victims and members of the public who believe that the sentences are unreasonably low to ask the AGO to review cases relating to several specified serious offenses and consider whether they should should be referred to the Court of Appeal.
In a victim impact statement read out to the sentencing hearing, the family of Anguilla-born Mr Seesahai, who lived in Birmingham, described his murder as tragic, unexpected and senseless and committed “without any reason”.
Anti-knife activists had previously described the sentence for the two boys as “shocking”.
The minimum tariff was described as a “joke” by anti-knife campaigner Laura Hughes.
Ms Hughes founded the kNOw Knife Crime charity in 2019 to celebrate her brother Coline McGinty's 40th birthday.
Shawn Seesahai stumbled as he tried to escape from the boys in Wolverhampton, the court heard
Officers searched a storage room under one of the boy's beds and recovered a machete
An image retrieved from one of the boys' phone showed long knives and swords on a bed
The anti-knife activist's brother was just 21 when he was stabbed in Liverpool in 2001 in a mix-up with a knife.
Reflecting on the difficulty of commenting on a case without knowing the full facts, she said: “A minimum period of eight years and six months is not a real deterrent.” Murder is murder, they have taken a life.
“It is so shocking that children of this age could commit such a violent crime.” My heart breaks for the victim's family. “It’s a really shocking case.”
It happened shortly after Shawn's friend told how they were threatened while discussing their plans for Christmas. As the boy reached for his blade, Shawn shouted, “Run, brother.”
He told the court: “The guy took it out of the sheath.” We started running but Shawn stumbled. I was running for my life – I couldn’t stay there and watch.”
After fleeing the scene, they went to one of the boy's houses where they played the video game Fortnite while Mr Seesahai lay dying.
One later said on Snapchat: “Everyone is talking about it, literally everyone knows it.” His accomplice responded by pointing out: “It is what it is.”
They then shared more messages saying: “I'm scared, man” – before the other says “I don't have any”, followed by the acronym “IDRC”, which means “I don't care”.
The boys are believed to be the youngest defendants convicted of murder in Britain since Jon Venables (left) and Robert Thompson (right), both aged 11, were found guilty of killing two-year-old James Bulger in 1993
Venables and Thompson tortured and killed two-year-old James Bulger (pictured) in 1993.
Forensic experts and police officers stand at the crime scene in Wolverhampton last November
One of the defendants was obsessed with knives – he even posed for a photo with a machete tucked into his pants hours before he committed the murder.
Mr Seesahai, who was from Anguilla and had been in the UK for six months, was stabbed with such violence that the blade almost went through his body.
His grieving parents said he called for them as he lay dying and that he was looking forward to starting a new engineering course the next day.
A victim impact statement from the family, read to the court by Dorothea Hodge, the British representative for Anguilla, said: “The loss of a child is a parent's worst nightmare.” It would take more than a day, all in an explanation of how it has affected our lives.
“It has left a huge hole in the pit of our stomach that nothing can fill. We are devastated as a family, completely heartbroken and confused.”
The statement added that Shawn was incredibly close to his younger sister, who had always dreamed of being at his wedding and him at hers.
The family members, including parents Suresh and Maneshwary and sister Shana, added: “Mentally, it has been difficult for any of us to function normally.” None of us have slept continuously since Shawn was taken from us.
“Every time I close my eyes all I can think about is what his last moments were and how scared he must have been.” It breaks my heart constantly.
“The impact on us as a family is devastating. It’s hard to believe we’ll ever come to terms with what happened.”
“We will never see Shawn get married or start a family of his own.” “These things were taken from us for seemingly no reason.”
